Overtourism happens when there is an exponential explosion of tourists at a specific destination. Now “Exponential” is a biased term, but it is described in each destination by residents, business owners, hosts, and travellers.

Is the attractive destination of Tirthan Valley- a Victim of Overtourism?

It is an extremely obvious question and, of course, no reward for guessing. Some common sights in Tirthan Valley are experiencing prolonged traffic noises, choked highways, packed hotels, and overflowing parking places during this Covid time.

The most seriously affected is the ecologically fragile Serlosar lake, with hordes becoming completely uncontrollable and sometimes dangerous too. Overcrowding moves against the laws of a sustainable tourism economy.

Regarding the serious impact on places to visit in Tirthan Valley, the NGT has declared that only up to 1200 visitors vehicles, 400 of this diesel and 800 petrol, will be allowed per day. To assure this, every traveller vehicle headed for Tirthan Valley requires a valid permit, available online.

But the question remains, is it improving? Corruption here has become more widespread.

Overtourism is producing ecological destruction to Tirthan Valley. The harm caused by such big visitor amounts can have a drastic impact on the ecology. Clearing the immense garbage, plastic bottles, disposable food packs, cups and other food waste dumped by visitors is a problem.

I suggest one alternative that may be important: visiting the less visited places near Tirthan Valley instead of driving only to the valley and making this area unprotected and a victim of overtourism. Travelling other places may distribute the ratio of tourists fairly.

Visiting different places doesn’t mean doing whatever the hell you desire. It is still important to keep that place plastic-free and with zero-waste.

Tips to be a Responsible Tourist

Being a traveller, here are few measures we can take to make things under control, such as:

• We should know about the area we are touring, and dirtying and damaging should be kept in control. Even if you don’t own a pretty big moral compass, at least trying to keep Plastic Free travel in Tirthan valley is not that difficult to put up with.

• You should research the area you desire to tour and see if there are similar options available that do not face overcrowding or overtourism.

• You can also attempt to visit through the off-seasons when the hordes usually decrease. It also helps native businesses, which you should always encourage.

• Instead of focusing on visiting for a day, you should consider a ‘staycation’ to understand properly and experience a place.

• A tourist should regularly learn techniques to sustain eco-friendliness as pollution is one of the leading outcomes of overcrowding.

It may appear a long way to go if we desire to overcome overtourism, but we should encourage ourselves to become a little more accurate as a traveller.

Professionals in well-known traveller destinations are struggling to deal with the difficulties. Still, in the end, the travellers should be responsible and moral when they are out exploring the unexplored.