Atna Journal of Tourism Studies

Reimagining Sustainable Futures

Bindi Varghese — 2026-02-04

Sustainable tourism and destination resilience in Nigeria’s tourism sector

Friday Ogbu Edeh — 2026-01-30

Resilience emerged in tourism research due to the need for destinations to withstand unforeseen circumstances, beyond the disruption of destination activities. Some destinations fail to withstand environmental turbulence due to inadequate resilience skills and strategies, which sometimes forces destination practitioners to retrench workers, thereby creating more unemployment. These lapses occurred because the destinations lack an injector that could improve their sustainable tourism performance. The above vacuum prompted this study. Thus, the main objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between sustainable tourism and destination resilience in southeastern Nigeria. The study used a cross-sectional survey design. Data were collected with a validated questionnaire from one hundred and eighty-four (184) participants at eight destinations in Enugu, south-eastern Nigeria. Three research hypotheses were developed from the literature review. The descriptive statistics were analysed in SPSS 25, while the research hypotheses were analysed using PLS-SEM in SmartPLS 4. The study found that sustainable tourism has a significant positive relationship with destination resilience.

Visitor Preferences of Landscape Components in Kashmir Region, India

Ashis K. Saha — 2026-01-30

This paper explores visitors' perceptions of landscape preferences in Kashmir, India. Using purposive sampling, data were gathered from 500 respondents through a self-administered questionnaire consisting mainly of closed-ended questions. Among them, 120 (24%) were foreign tourists, 251 (50.2%) domestic visitors, and 129 (25.8%) local excursionists. Vegetation ranked highest in visitor preference (score: 7.30), followed by heritage (6.93), landform (6.45), water (6.23), and builtform (2.42). Except for built form, significant differences were observed among visitor groups based on their origin. Additionally, statistically significant differences (p<0.05) were found between male and female preferences for primary landscape components, except for built form (p>0.05). These findings highlight how landscape preferences vary by visitor demographics, emphasising the need for landscape development plans that accommodate such differences. This is crucial for ensuring the long-term sustainability of fragile tourism destinations like Kashmir.

Examine the Impact of Curriculum Components on Students' Employability Potential: A Study on Undergraduate Tourism Students

Vineet Kumar — 2026-01-30

The major goals of education are to educate students, equip them with the necessary skills to support themselves, and prepare them for success in their selected areas of work. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of curriculum components on students’ employability potential. The target population of the study consists of institutions and universities in the North Indian region. A total of 360 students enrolled in bachelor's programs and taking tourism courses in the regular mode were approached for the study. To analyze the collected data, SPSS version 24 and AMOS version 21 were used. Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh were taken into consideration. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, along with structural equation modeling (measurement model and structural model), were employed, revealing that the generic skills and functional area skills of curriculum structure design have a significant positive influence on students’ employability potential.

Sacred-Secular Tourism of Kashmir, Similarities, Continuity and Complementary: A Case of Baba Rishi Shrine

Ab Qayoom Shah — 2026-01-30

Sacred-secular tourism experiences appear deeply embedded among the visitors of the Baba Rishi Shrine of Kashmir. In this work, the researcher focused on the expressions of beliefs, feelings, motivations, behaviour and experiences of visitors. These attributes were identified through a review of the literature and direct conversations with the stakeholders of the shrine. The main objectives of the present study were to explore the Age, gender, residency, marital status and religion of visitors who travel to the Baba Rishi shrine, and their interest in other sacred and secular destinations of Kashmir. The study revealed that visitors of Baba Rishi shrine are interested in both sacred and secular places on the same day and schedule. They prefer to experience both sacred and secular tourism. The objectives of the study were achieved through the Survey method and in-depth interviews. The respondents were mainly the visitors of Baba Rishi shrine and other stakeholders (custodians and travel agencies). The final result of the study revealed that there is a close nexus between sacred and secular sites of Kashmir and visitors (pilgrims/tourist) seeks common motives and interests. The sacred-secular activities of visitors are not dichotomous in nature; rather, they appeal for similarities, continuity and complementarity.

Trends and Knowledge Structures in Sustainable Wine Tourism: A Bibliometric Review with Biblioshiny and VOSviewer

Vipan Kumar — 2026-02-04

At this time, the wine industry has gained boundless relevance worldwide. Sustainable wine tourism has arisen as a critical area of research. The wine cultivation and wine are especially vulnerable to the introduction of new technologies and practices that can improve sustainability in the medium and long term, as well as facilitate improvement in product quality. This study is a bibliometric analysis of the literature on wine tourism sustainability, highlighting key themes, emerging areas, and global trends. Data were collected from Scopus databases from 2003 to April 11, 2025. A publication study was conducted to identify key authors, institutions, and journals. The findings indicate that wine tourism is increasingly interested in conserving biodiversity and practices that are sustainable practices. To find the major developments, this research aimed to use VOS viewer software and bibliometrics analysis (Biblioshiny). To achieve this, the keywords that are associated with "Wine tourism," "Viticulture," "Enotourism," and "Sustainab*" were searched within the "Scopus" database. There were 1267 items found. Applying all the filters to the English language, only 251 things remained. The results highlight co-citation, co-occurrence, theme analysis, top countries, journals, yearly publishing patterns, and the most appropriate journals. The results indicate that the most appropriate journal is "Sustainability (Switzerland)", the most cited keyword is "Viticulture", and the leading country is Italy. Studies indicate increasing interest in Sustainable Wine Tourism, underscoring the necessity for more theoretical and empirical work in this new domain.

Granular Estimation of the Female Workforce in the Tourism Industry of India

Rashmi Sehgal Thukral — 2026-02-03

Travel and Tourism contributes more than 5% of India’s GDP and generates direct employment for at least 1.7 crore people. Combining direct and indirect employment (such as transport logistics, handicrafts production, local artisans, etc.), the tourism industry influences 4 to 7 crore jobs in India. The industry is women workforce-friendly and has the potential to generate tens of lakhs of additional job opportunities for women. The government of India is therefore driving numerous initiatives and drafting policies for the tourism industry to grow faster and thereby generate more employment opportunities for women. A key challenge in drafting these policies and monitoring their impact is the lack of women workforce data at a granular level. In this paper, we leverage quantitative techniques from Linear Algebra to estimate the women workforce in tourism-related industries at a granular level using the macro-level data published by government agencies. Our quantitative techniques are general and may in future be used to estimate the women workforce at an even more granular level, such as the women workforce in specific tourism-related industries in specific districts.

Emerging Trends and Insights in Homestay Tourism: Quantitative Analysis and Future Agenda

Sahil Gautam — 2026-01-30

Homestay tourism plays a significant role as an alternative accommodation that supports community-based development. The study provides a comprehensive bibliometric assessment of 397 publications on homestay tourism extracted from the Scopus database. Performance indicators are used to highlight publication trends, leading authors, countries, and journals. Science mapping helps to identify the intellectual and thematic structure. The findings indicate a steady rise in homestay-related publications, strongly contributed by Asian countries and periodicals focusing on sustainability, intercultural learning, and destination management. Prominent themes include tourism development, rural and community-based tourism, sustainability, eco-tourism, and tourist behaviour, alongside newer interests in resilience and livelihood outcomes. The study shows how homestay research has evolved and identifies areas where further theoretical development and comparative work are required to support the sustainable expansion of homestay tourism.

Responsible Tourism Practices and Community Involvement in Darap, Sikkim: The Role of Local Communities in Ecotourism Development

Jigmie Wanchuk Bhutia — 2026-01-30

Community engagement in responsible tourism is critical for the sustainable development of destinations where residents can benefit from tourism activities. The community's perception regarding sustainable tourism can significantly impact residents' behaviours, attitudes, and involvement toward environmentally responsible practices. This study investigates and analyses community participation and RT practices at Darap, Sikkim, an acclaimed ecotourism and cultural destination, from the perspectives of the local community. Results indicate that residents perceive Darap's significant potential for development as a responsible ecotourism destination that provides tourism advantages. Local communities nevertheless only contribute an insignificant degree to the growth of ecotourism and responsible practices. About 48.2% of respondents are employed in the tourism industry, which is broadly consistent with the overall economic and social demographics of the local community. The main obstacles to community involvement and participation in ecotourism development are limited funds and knowledge, the absence of continued training, and capacity-building programs on responsible tourism practices, which need to be highlighted for sustainable destination development.

Can Tourism Help In Reshaping a Country’s Informal Sector? Evidence From India

Jiya Matlani — 2026-01-30

Even though the informal sector in India is the principal source of employment for 80% of the workforce, it faces numerous challenges in the social and economic realms, making it vulnerable. The presented study focuses on tourism and credit availability as two major factors in fueling the formalisation of traditional sectors, specifically jute, pottery, leather, handlooms and the cultural gig economy, as means to resolve some of the challenges faced by the informal sector. The motivation to study tourism as a propellant of the formalisation of the informal sector follows from the idea that formalisation leads to an eventual rise in economic stability while simultaneously preserving culture. Moreover, physical and virtual tourism offer incredible opportunities for local craftsmen by enabling high-value sales and visibility in national and international markets. The study also reflects on the marginalisation of the artisans due to paucity of institutional support, especially credit accessibility, thereby encouraging the use of loan accessibility as the other component of analysis. Furthermore, a mixed method approach is followed, combining trend analysis of sectors, namely, jute, pottery, leather, handlooms and the gig economy using both secondary data and primary data collected from the semi-structured interviews of 78 craftsmen across 4 states, as well as correlational and regression analysis by regressing worker incomes on tourism and credit access. The trend analysis highlights the heavy reliance of workers on tourism-derived demand due to the ‘seasonal’ nature of these sectors. Additionally, the regression results reveal a stark positive correlation between the income of artisans and the tourism density of a region of around 75% as well as an even stronger positive correlation between income and loan accessibility to artisans of around 89%, which can serve as a base for policy formulations for the formalisation of the sector. Henceforth, informality and income volatility are perpetuated by constitutional barriers like limited access to credit, seasonal demand, digital exclusion and uneven policy implementation, regardless of a notable demand for genuine local goods from tourists.

Reviving Intangible Cultural Heritage through Sustainable Tourism: The Case of the Kholey Dai Festival

Subecha Chettri — 2026-01-30

The Kholey Dai Festival, celebrated annually in Parengtar village, Kalimpong district, West Bengal, India, demonstrates how community-driven cultural initiatives can align with sustainable tourism principles while preserving intangible cultural heritage. This study critically examines the festival’s contributions to cultural preservation, community-based tourism (CBT) development, and environmental sustainability. Using a mixed-methods approach including qualitative interviews, focus groups, participant observation, and quantitative surveys of visitors, vendors, and homestay providers. The findings reveal that the festival revitalises traditional music, dances, and agrarian rituals, while strengthening community pride and generating livelihood opportunities. Economically, the festival generated revenues that directly benefited households through homestays, food, and handicraft sales. Environmentally, the festival enforces a zero-waste policy. Nonetheless, challenges include infrastructure strain, carrying capacity limits, commercialisation risks, and uneven distribution of benefits. This paper situates Kholey Dai as a model of grassroots sustainable tourism with implications for rural festivals globally.