TourismClass 9 Geography Chapter 12 Notes – Maharashtra Board

Summary: Tourism

Tourism means going to places away from home for enjoyment, entertainment, trade or a stay. Tourists plan a route, choose transport, pack essentials, use facilities at the destination and pay for them — so tourism is a service, an invisible trade.

Places attract tourists because of natural beauty, pleasant weather, scenery, hot springs, coasts, historical monuments, religious sites and forests. By political boundaries tourism is domestic (within a country) or international (to another country, needing a passport, visa, insurance and foreign currency).

New forms of tourism keep appearing: ecotourism (travel without harming nature), agro-tourism (farm stays, e.g. in Pune and Kolhapur districts), film tourism (Mumbai Film City, Ramoji City), scuba diving and snorkelling at Tarkarli, and health or medical tourism.

Special trains — Deccan Odyssey, Palace on Wheels and the glass-roofed Vistadome coach on the Visakhapatnam–Kirandul line — and bodies such as MTDC promote tourism; GPS apps help plan routes and find facilities.

Tourism is a tertiary occupation. It earns foreign currency, creates local jobs, develops infrastructure, encourages conservation, supports health tourism and spreads social awareness (Melghat, Anandwan, Ralegan Siddhi, Hiware Bazar). India's natural and cultural variety gives it huge tourism potential.

Key points to remember

• Tourism = visiting places away from home for pleasure, entertainment, trade or a stay
• Tourism is a tertiary occupation and a form of invisible trade
• Domestic tourism: within the country; international tourism: crossing borders
• Going abroad needs a passport, visa, travel insurance and foreign currency
• Attractions: natural beauty, climate, hot springs, coasts, monuments, religious places, forests
• Ecotourism: tourism that does not damage the environment
• Agro-tourism: experiencing farm life; centres in Pune and Kolhapur districts
• Film tourism: Mumbai Film City, Ramoji City (Hyderabad)
• Tarkarli (Malvan, Sindhudurg): MTDC's international-standard scuba diving centre
• Deccan Odyssey (from Mumbai) and Palace on Wheels (from Delhi) are luxury tourist trains
• Medical tourism: patients come to India for cost-effective treatment, Ayurveda and Yoga
• Tourism brings foreign exchange, local jobs, infrastructure and social awareness

Tourism – Notes

1. What tourism is

• We travel short or long distances for festivals, family functions, fairs, sports, wandering or recreation. Before leaving we pick a route, choose transport and pack essentials.
• At the destination we visit beautiful and remarkable sites, may stay overnight, use local facilities and pay for them.
• Tourism means going to places away from one's home for joy, entertainment, trade or staying.
• Places listed in the book's 'favourite places' activity fall into groups: places near the sea, historical places, national parks and sanctuaries, hill stations and religious places.
• Planning a trip means working out the route (websites help), duration, things to carry, means of transport, availability of the route and cost per person.

2. Kinds of tourism

• On the basis of political boundaries: domestic tourism — within one's own country, e.g. someone from Maharashtra visiting Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, or a Nagpur resident visiting Ellora near Aurangabad; international tourism — crossing borders, e.g. an Indian visiting Switzerland or an American visiting India.
• For travel abroad you need papers such as a passport, a visa and travel insurance, and you must change your money into the currency of the country you visit.
• On the basis of purpose and the place's speciality (photos in the book): cultural tourism (processions, festivals), wildlife tourism (sanctuaries, jungle trails), sea tourism, health tourism, adventure sports and underwater tourism (seeing life below the sea). Religious and historical tourism are also common.
• Fig. 12.1 (map of India) shows major tourist places: hill stations in the Himalayas and Western Ghats, beaches along the coasts, sanctuaries in forested areas and religious and historical sites across the plains and plateau — showing the link between physiography and tourism.
• To develop tourism: build basic facilities at tourist sites, promote domestic tourism and protect cultural heritage. Wrong ideas to correct: tourism needs no high national income to begin; foreign tourists and tourist agencies should be welcomed, not banned; the field has great scope; the economy benefits a lot from tourism.

3. New forms of tourism and special trains

• Ecotourism: as population, pollution and urbanisation damage nature, tourists are asked not to harm it — no littering, no noise, no hurting trees, birds and animals.
• Agro-tourism: city people stay on a farm, away from pollution, see farm work and enjoy the farmer's hospitality for a payment. Many centres have come up in Pune and Kolhapur districts.
• Film tourism: film shooting locations draw crowds, so facilities are built there — e.g. Mumbai Film City and Ramoji City (Hyderabad).
• Sea tourism: Tarkarli in Konkan is known for its seabed life; tourists go snorkelling and scuba diving. MTDC has set up an international-standard scuba diving training centre at Tarkarli (Malvan taluka, Sindhudurg).
• Special trains: Deccan Odyssey, run jointly by MTDC, Indian Railways and the Ministry of Tourism, goes from Mumbai to Nashik, Ellora, Ajanta, Kolhapur, Goa and Ratnagiri and back — a palace on rails. Palace on Wheels runs Delhi–Jaipur–Udaipur–Bharatpur–Agra–Delhi. The Vistadome coach, with a glass roof, runs Visakhapatnam–Kirandul, showing the Araku valley, Anantagiri ghat and Borra caves.
• MTDC (Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation) provides guest houses, water sports and tourist homes along the coast. GPS apps such as Google Maps show your location, routes, distance, travel time by vehicle, and petrol pumps, restaurants and lodges on the way.

4. Why tourism matters

• Tourism is an important tertiary occupation. It introduces the world to a region's nature, society and culture. Foreign tourists bring foreign currency; tourist places are developed and local people get jobs.
• Economic development: restaurants, shops, transport and recreation grow and add directly to the economy; better infrastructure and new jobs help indirectly. Because it sells services, tourism is called invisible trade.
• Environmental development: the government invests in sanctuaries, national parks and natural spots. Eco-friendly resorts and roads use power and water carefully, recycle and reuse, so nature is kept while tourism grows.
• Health: some visitors come for Ayurveda, Yoga and Pranayam to gain peace of mind and physical strength; patients from many developing countries come because treatment in Indian hospitals costs less — this is medical tourism.
• Social development: including rural and tribal life in tourism (Melghat's tribal life, Baba Amte's Anandwan, model villages Ralegan Siddhi and Hiware Bazar) spreads social awareness and brings development to neglected groups.
• India's diversity — natural beauty, the Himalayas, long coasts, festivals, costumes, food with Indian spices and warm hospitality — gives it huge potential; tourism will be an important part of India's economy in future.

5. Being a responsible tourist

• Check the timings of high and low tides before visiting a beach.
• Do not go to sea coasts, hilltops, jungles or unknown caves without a local guide.
• Avoid selfies at sea cliffs, hill edges or with wild animals; do not be tempted to swim in the sea or deep water.
• Keep tourist places clean, do not disturb animals and birds, and follow the instructions on notice boards.
• Respect the culture of the places and people you visit — 'Atithi Devo Bhava' works both ways.

Types of tourism with examples

Key terms

Tourism – Flashcards

Read the question, answer it in your head, then tap the card to check. 20 cards.

Tourism – MCQ Quiz

15 questions. Tap an option — you will see at once if it is right and why.

How to study Tourism

⏱ About 35 minutes

1. Understand (10 min)
   Learn the meaning of tourism, domestic and international tourism and what attracts tourists.
2. Types and importance (15 min)
   Learn eco, agro, film, health and sea tourism with examples, the special trains, and tourism's economic, environmental, health and social effects.
3. Practise (10 min)
   Answer the 'Try it yourself' questions, take the quiz and play 🎮 Play.