Perceived Socio-Cultural Impacts of Rural Tourim: A Case of Thar Desert of Rajasthan

Abstract

Rural tourism, a diversification possibility for declining mass tourism has played a key role in the development of rural areas that were economically and socially depressed.  It has been perceived as a valuable and growing sector of overall tourism market, representing a significant source of income to rural economies.  The development of  rural tourism like any other forms of tourism – may have unfavourable economic, social and environmental consequences for local communities.  In relatively small tourism resort  towns or villages, increased population and crowed especially in peak season cause noise pollution and congestion.  Review in Indian context, there is really a dearth of research work in the field of rural tourism in general and desert tourism in particular.  In, Rajasthan where the majority of population live in rural area; the scope of rural tourism is enormous. Current need of rural communities to diversity their economies and to replace traditional depleting industries compelled the rural economies to choose tourism as an avenue to achieve increase in income, employment and economical stability  while revitalizing community’s traditional resources.  The case study for this paper is from a rural area in Thar dessert of Rajasthan