Sustainable, Inclusive, and Climate-Resilient Tourism Development at Tehri Lake Area Project

approved

Supporting rural development through tourism linked with agriculture and environmental protection is a major development priority for India. The project will support the development of sustainable tourism in a rural hill region of Uttarakhand State, northern India, through tourism planning, capacity building and climate-resilient and inclusive facilities that support post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery, rural income diversification, and environmental protection. The project will build upon previous ADB support for tourism in Uttarakhand State and other regions of India. The project area is based around a large, operational hydropower lake, and the project will also contribute to growing international experience on developing rural tourism in coordination with land and water zoning for hydropower generation. About 90,000 residents and 10,000 visitors per year are expected to benefit from new tourism facilities and value chains, capacity building for local agencies, communities, and the private sector, waste management, and DRM. The project's expected outcome is that sustainable, inclusive, and climate-resilient tourism in Tehri Lake area is established. The project will have 4 outputs: (i) Climate-smart and inclusive institutional framework and destination management capacity strengthened, (ii) Climate-resilient green infrastructure for tourism established, (iii) Community- and private sector-led tourism scaled up, and (iv) Environmental protection and DRM enhanced.