| dc.description.abstract | Worldwide tourism is one of the largest single sectors in terms of employment
generated, and total earnings. In developing countries, the relevance of this
sector becomes important because of its impact on such critical areas as infrastructure, foreign exchange inflow and employment generation.
In this context, lndia is specially endowed through the richness, quantity and diversity of sites with potential for tourism. However, only a very small percentage of this heritage is currently being tapped to its full potential. Moreover, whatever is being promoted is being done with very little planning and inadequate concern for ensuring sustainability of use. Thousands of historical sites are in a very dilapidated state, not just due to lack of attention but often by being 'loved to death'. Inadequate infrastructure, illogical land
use patterns in surrounding areas, improper or badly managed financing and
lack of incentives for conservation to the owners are some of the problems
currently being faced. Slowly but surely, we are loosing a vast resource that
has the potential to be a source of livelihood for thousands of people across
the country.
One cannot hope to protect these sites effectively unless it is in the interest of
the people directly interacting with the built spaces in that area to retain its
character. This means that the architecture must able to become part of the
local economy. However, this must be done in a way that the economy itself
does not begin to consume the resource (in this case thk heritage site) on
which it thrives. | en_US |
