Determinants of quantification of tourism waste in the hilly terrain of Himalayas: A spatial approach

Abstract

The rapid economic development in environmentally sensitive zone of Himalayas resulted in the increased generation of tourism waste. However, the accounting methodology for accumulation of tourism waste in the hilly terrain was found to be missing. Accordingly, the socio-economic factors influencing the tourism waste generation were identified, and their correlation analysis was performed. The tourism waste generated within and outside an urban local body was quantified over a period of 12 years (2008-2019) using a novel methodology, considering the socioeconomic factors, such as economic significance, geographical terrain, location of tourist destinations and tourism-related activities. The spatial dependency of tourism waste accumulation in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, India was analyzed using the geographically weighted regression. Furthermore, the air pollutants' emission (PM_2.5, PM₁₀, CO, SO₂ and NO_x) from the open burning of neglected tourism waste were also quantified and compared with the existing literature.

Keywords: Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR); Himalayas; Municipal Solid Waste; Socio-economic Factors; Tourism Waste Quantification; Waste Burning.