Tourism

.

Ethnocracy and concentration of power can derail even an affluent nation.

The unique blend of silence and vibrancy characteristic of Pondicherry is slowly disappearing as locals grapple with rapid development.

Low demand, high trade costs, poor infrastructure, unstable law and order and the lackadaisical nature of government impede the economic growth of the North Eastern Region. This prolonged underdevelopment points to the urgent need of the NER to integrate with the global economy for faster economic growth. Such an integration and subsequent economic transformation can be made possible through participation in global value chains. The NER has comparative trade advantage in producing labour-intensive products, and participation in services-based GVCs, particularly tourism, can be very profitable for the NER.

Home to a legacy from history, Agra boasts of a number of historical monuments. This paper focuses on the urban planning implications and socio-spatial consequences of heritage tourism in Agra. Tim Edensor's categorisation of tourist space as "enclavic" or "heterogeneous," Aihwa Ong's zones of exception and the concept of "elite capture" provide the key conceptual frames that inform the study. The paper argues that global heritage tourism has reconfigured everyday life and the spatial geography of Agra, often deepening urban inequalities. The most affected by these new developments are the poor communities living in and around the Taj Mahal for centuries, who find themselves alienated as their world is taken over by the juggernaut of heritage tourism.