Author(s):
Rajendra S. Suryawanshi, PhD* - Abasaheb Garware College
Abstract:
Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in India. This study is carried out to analyze the potential of tourism in Thane district of Maharashtra. The types of tourism are landscape evaluation, landform evaluation and cultural tourism. The weights were assigned to the village polygons on the basis of the value of variables. The weights assigned range from 1 to 5. Using these weights a composite index for aerial differentiation based on the physical factors was defined. For site specific aspect the exercise was repeated taking into account the locations of specific landforms that could attract the tourists. The landforms were identified from the topographical maps as well as digital elevation model developed using Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission data. The villages where these landform are located as well as the villages within 3 km distance from these landforms have been identified as the regions of tourist interest. The weights were assigned to these locations and summed up to get a composite index. The third group includes features of cultural importance. In order to identify possible centers of tourist attraction information was collected. The villages within 3 km distance from the locations of the above-mentioned list have been identified and assigned weights. One can assess the places on a scale ranging from average, normal, different, distinct unique. Composite index to determine the tourism potentials for the places or regions in the area under consideration.
