Tourism development in the Sikkim himalaya: balancing growth and sustainability

Sikkim’s tourism sector has become a key driver of economic growth, significantly contributing to per capita NSDP and employing nearly one-third of the workforce. Yet, the sharp revival of tourism in 2022–23, when visitor numbers exceeded 2.5 times the resident population in designated areas, exposed critical socio-environmental vulnerabilities. These included food shortages, escalating living costs, and revenue leakage, along with ecological pressures from unstable landforms and shrinking cultivable land that increase dependence on neighboring states. Efforts to address seasonality have extended the domestic tourist season to nine months, but extreme weather events, such as the June 2023 flood, continue to undermine destination resilience. Solid waste management remains another pressing concern, with only 40% of organic waste processed and plastics comprising 22% of the total, well above global norms. Landfills near rivers further heighten contamination risks, intensified by a floating population nearly double the state’s permanent residents’. Traffic congestion, exacerbated by unregulated taxis, freight movement, and high vehicle density in the eastern and southern districts, underscores the need for stricter regulation, decentralization, and sustainable mobility solutions. Using secondary data, this study evaluates six sustainability indicators through T-tests, ANOVA, regression, and Mann-Whitney tests. Findings highlight the urgent need for integrated policies that reconcile economic growth with environmental sustainability and social well-being in Sikkim’s fragile mountain ecosystems.