Abstract

Tourism has a dominant role to play in strengthening the economy of the nation. It has great significance with regard to foreign relations. There are strong cultural roofs in tourism. The three important sectors contributing to the growth of Indian economy are agriculture, industry, and tourism, out of which tourism can be regarded as the largest and fastest contributor. It has very high significance in the development of the economy, exchange of knowledge, technology, marketing, commerce, and industrial exhibitions and these are the major factors generating the demand for tourism. There is a dire need to control the tourism industry, and more important, to protect and conserve the biodiversity of tourist places. Dealing predominantly with such serious issues, sustainable tourism is very important, as it is all about conserving the resources, valuing the local culture and tradition and, contributing largely to economy. Think of environmentally friendly businesses, and we probably think of things like solar power, green building and recycling, but according to a report by the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), one of the most promising things, when it comes to creating economic growth, reducing poverty, fueling job creation and addressing major environmental challenges — turns out to be sustainable tourism. India, though it provides a multi-dimensional ground to attract the tourist has not yet succeeded in this aspect. This paper attempts to highlight the importance of Green Tourism which is the need for sustainable development in the tourism industry.