A Critical Analysis of Motivational Factors of Host Communities for Developing Ecotourism in Sikkim

Abstract

Purpose: The primary aim of this study is to identify the motivational factors that influence
the local communities to get involved in ecotourism related activities in the ecotourism zones
of Sikkim. Two villages namely Okharey and Lachung in the extremely popular ecotourism
zones of western and northern part of Sikkim were studied to identify the motivational
factors.
Design/Methodology/Approach: Mix method approach was applied to study the
motivational factors. Primary data was collected through semi-structured questionnaireas
well as interviewswith the local people who were engaged in ecotourism, along with field
observation.The sample of the local community was collected using snowball sampling
technique.Secondary data was obtained from books, journals, government reports and
internet sources. Descriptive statistical analysis was used for the analysis of the quantitative
data collected by the questionnaire survey methodwhile hypothesis test was conducted using
inferential statistical t-test.Qualitative data focused more on drawing meaning from the
content of the data.
Findings: The result shows that increasing tourists’ inflow in the state has motivated the
local communities to engage themselves in ecotourism related activities in both the studied
villages. Host community i.e. locals have grasped that ecotourism related activities provide
an employment opportunity which further helps to enhance their socio-economic condition.
The results of hypothesis testing shows that the motivational factors of local communities
towards involvement in ecotourism related activities are not same that means the null
hypothesis is accepted at 0.05 levels.
Originality/Value: This study will be beneficial to as it will help identify the factors that
motivate host community and can be applied in new developing ecotourism destinations
across the country.