A new insight into an alternative methodology for tourism policy and sustainability in India

Tourism sector is not only a growth engine but also an employment generator of the nation. Nevertheless, it is the number of tourist arrival which defines the present status and future prospects of tourism. Further, various measures have been used to rank the top tourism economy in the world especially on the basis of tourist arrival, tourism receipt, tourism expenditure etc. The present study is an attempt to overview and rank the comparative status of tourism among the Indian states, with the help of Density of Tourist Population (DTP). The study concludes that DTP can be used as an easy and simple alternative method to rank the states. According to DTP ranking, Delhi, Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu has been ranked as the top five states and Union Territories (U.Ts), and Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya are the lowest five states. The present study advocates for sustainable tourism policy in top ranked states/U.Ts and Tourism destination development policy in lowest ranked states/U.Ts. It has also been observed that the North-eastern states of India need more comprehensive planning in this regard. In this context, the present study does not advocate to stop the inflow of tourists in the area of high DTP area. Rather, it alerts the planner and gives a light to plan properly and take immediate sustainable planning and research for the top ranked states/U.Ts and Tourism Destination Development planning for the lowest ranked states/U.Ts.