Local Fairs & Festivals as Tourism Attraction:

A Study of Himachal Pradesh

Parikshit Sharma1, Priya Sharma2 Kusum3

Abstract: Local Fairs & Festivals are being considered as central tourism attraction these days. The promotions of these festivals not only act as an opportunity to attract more tourists but also benefit to the state’s economy. Himachal Pradesh, the DevBhoomi is known for a number of local fairs & festivals. Many of the Fairs & Festivals are celebrated locally and a few numbers take mention in National & International too. This paper is an endeavorto study various fairs & festivals of Himachal Pradesh as tourism attraction and role of HPDTC in promotion of these fairs & festivals.

Keywords: Promotion, Local, Festivals, Tourism

1School of Hospitality & Tourism, Bahra University, Waknaghat, Himachal Pradesh

2Institute of Hotel Management, Kufri, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

3School of Hospitality & Tourism, Bahra University, Waknaghat, Himachal Pradesh

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1. Introduction

In recent times, fairs & festivals are motivating more and more tourists to travel. Within the context of tourism, festival participation can be perceived as special interest tourism (Weiler and Hall 1992) and also creative tourism (Richards 2001).The idea of special interest tourism and creative tourism entail a certain sense of seriousness in the selected tourism activity (Kim, 2004).Festivals often attract serious tourists, actively consuming the familiar art form or socialization (Prentice & Anderson, 2003). Serious tourists are those for whom cultural pursuits are a form of identity creation, an extension of general leisure, and a systematic pursuit (Stebbins, 1996).

The fairs & festivals enhance local pride in culture. They also expose indigenous minorities and also increasing number of international visitors to new peoples and their customs as well as, other purposesincluding contributing to the local economy, and providing recreation opportunities (Long & Perdue,1990).Getz (1991) recognizes festivals and events as a new wave of alternative tourism which contributes to sustainable development and improves the relationship between host and guest.

The use of local fairs &festivals to promote and develop tourism has gained worldwide momentum in recent years. (Felsenstein& Fleischer, 2003).The most obvious reasons for the popularity of the local festival as a tourism promotion tool are that (1) festivals increase the demand for local tourism (Smith and Jenner 1998), and (2) successful festivals can help recreate the image of a place or contribute toward the exposure of a location trying to get on the tourism map (Kotler, Haider, and Rein 1993). The strategic placement of a festival in the local tourism calendar can help extend the tourism season is another reason for their promotion (Getz 1997).

Most festivals are cyclical in nature, with events held on a regular basis (e.g., annually) and repeat visitors constitute an important market segment (Prentice and Anderson 2003).

The purpose of this paper is to study fair & festivals of Himachal Pradesh as tourism attraction and roleof Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation in promotion of local fairs & festivals of Himachal Pradesh to attract more and more tourist to the tourists. Finally, paper concludes with some policy suggestions.

2. Review of literature

Festivals are increasingly becoming important manifestation of tourism, with many destinations adding them to their core gamut of visitor attraction products to attain various economic and socio-cultural benefits (Hall, 1992; Goldblatt and Supovitz, 1999; McKercher, Mei, and Tse, 2006).

Derrett (2003) observed that such events like festivals are a potentially effective vehicle for gaining competitive advantage by promoting and reinforcing the destination’s unique ‘sense of place’.

Uysal, Gahan, and Martin (1993) in study of county Corn Festival in South Carolina have identified visitors’ motivations for attending the festival. Five dimensions of motivation emerged after factor analysis of twenty-four motivation items. Five dimensions are: ‘escape’, ‘excitement/thrills’, ‘event novelty’, ‘socialization’ and ‘family togetherness’.

Many researcher in their study on fairs and festivals while examining the impacts of events on host communities focused on the economic impacts under the assumption that economic benefits of events is one of the most important reasons for organizing an event in the first place (Crompton & McKay, 1997; Gartner &Holecek, 1983; Kim et al., 1998; Thrane, 2002; Walo et al., 1996; UysalGitelson, 1994).

Felsenstein & Fleischer (2003) noted that promoting the festival as a tourist attraction usually means public sector assistance.

Thus researches on the fair and festivals focus on the motivation factors and economic impacts associated with the organization of these events. The researchers also state that public sector plays a crucial role in the organization of such events.

3. Methodology

3.1Objective

  1. To study fair & festivals of Himachal Pradesh as tourism attraction.
  2. Role of Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation in promotion of local fairs & festivals of Himachal Pradesh.

3.2 Study

The present study is based on the secondary data.

4. Fair & Festival of Himachal Pradesh

Festival: “A day or period of celebration, typically for religious reasons”

Festivals: “an organized series of concerts, plays, or films, typically one held annually in the same place”– Oxford Dictionary.

India is a country known for its rich diversity in form of different religions it incorporates under one democratic alliance. Since the Indus valley civilization, the country has brought many cultures and traditions. India, a democratic country has a majority of the community following the Hindu religion and Muslim, Sikhs, Jains, Christians forms the other part of the strata. The major religion Hinduism is a monotheistic religion ironically worshipping numerous gods and goddesses across the country and round the year. The fact that Hindus worship a numerous gods, goddesses, saints, gurus and local deities form the basis of celebrating various fairs, festivals and other occasions across the lengths and breadth of the country round the year with a lot of pomp and show.

Himachal Pradesh is quite strategically placed. In the north, Himachal Pradesh is bordered by Jammu and Kashmir and in the south by Haryana. In the south west the state is bordered by Uttaranchal and in the south west and west by Punjab. Tibet borders Himachal Pradesh in the East. With the above neighboring states, the state follows a majority of religions and customs. Since the formation of the state, people have migrated to and from other states. People coming from all the other states brings along with them their local traditions and customs, thereby, bestowing varied fairs and festivals celebrated with the inhabitants of the state.

Himachal is known as the land of gods by the very name accredited to it “DevBhoomi Himachal”. With gods and goddesses, people of himachal, worships many local deities across the state. There are various studies conducted which reflects the powers of these deities in local administration, money lending and conferring justice to the locals. Many local fairs and festivals are named after these local deities and are celebrated with processions and other activities.

In the winters, a whole new range of events and activities start tounwrap, preliminarily with the anglers by the angling activities who reach at the MaharanaPratapSagar at Kangra district and at GobindSagar in Bilaspur district. The Ice Skating Carnivaltagged for the end of December delights the tourists and locals at the Asia’s only Natural Ice Skating rink at Lakkar Bazaar in Shimla, formerly the Blessington’s Tennis Court. The Ice Skating Carnival exhibits many fancy dress competitions, dance performances, ice hockey, etc. adding to the joy and interest of the festival.

January starts with the celebration of New Year. In the middle of January, the festivals like Lohri or Maghi Festival is celebrated with folk dance and songs and Fair is also organized, memorializing the sowing of Rabi crops too. The most admired Kite Flying festivities in bright clear and sunny skies mark the celebrations of BasantPanchmi.Paonta Sahib District celebrates Guru Gobind Singh’s Birthday, with lighting up all the Gurudwaras. The district of Paonta Sahib has many stories linked with him. Republic Day celebration at all the district headquarters with socio – cultural activities also displays the variety of the state. Shimla being the capital has a daylong celebration and activities pertaining to culture along with the processions of development of State in terms of I.T., Infrastructure, Power and Electricity and other current developments are displayed to the general public for applaud.

March is the time when winter is at a concluding stage with well-known festivals like Chaitrual, Holi and Shivratri. The Chaitrual festival is the festivity of pictures, in Sirmaur Region. A festival of pictures, it is celebrated on the night of the full moon to perform the rituals. The deities of all the families are carried to the fields and an intricate dish known as 'Poltu' is prepared and offered to the goddess. While returning after the celebration, people break clay pots, in order to chase away the evil spirits. Shivratri, which isa festival accredited to the worshipping of Lord Shiva, also has many local celebrations at all Shiv temples and the preparation of Poode, Madra, Channe, and the mystical “Bhaang” served as Lord Shiva’s prashad to Ladies and Men, equally. Holi, also known as thefestival of colors celebrated all over the Country as well as State, has legend associated to the HolikaDahan, an evening prior to the celebration of Holi, when people come out of their houses to play and color their friends and foes equally. The month of March also celebrates the magnificent Nalwari Fair, in Bilaspur with the trading of Cattles, wherein the cattle’s are brought in pairs and are fully decorated with all sorts of make-up that may be done to an animal. Then a stage is set where the best couple is awarded and celebrations are made. Trade shops and Aero and water sports show also take part nowadays.

Baisakhi Festival is celebrated on 13th of April each year celebrated with a lot of interests and faith in Tattapani region near Shimla; Rewalsar and Parashar near Mandi with Sacred dips in waters of Sutlej River and other lakes are taken by people. Throughout the day, many fairs, events and contests are held. People participate in competitions of wrestling, dancing and archery.

Summer Festival in Shimla is a fair categorized in the International Fairs and Festivals, wherein, Singers and Performers from the State and from National level comes and performs during this week long Festival at the Ridge, Shimla. Many other recreational activities are also organized by the Local Administration with the help of the Tourism department.

Lavi Fair held in Rampur, in Upper Shimla area on the River banks of Satluj has international craze and fame, and happens to be in November. Accredited as a major center for trading and stopover for the old routes like Ladakh, Afghanistan and Kinnaur in old days, stalls were put up by the Kinnaur and Tibetan Traders. Present-day, Lavi Fair is just an effort to revive that old glory. Traders from all corners come to sell utensils, quilts, and many other consumer goods, with the most sought after ‘Pashmina’ wool, ‘Chaumukhi’ horses, dry fruits, handicrafts, etc. Tribe’s trade products can also be checked like woolen pattoos or may be the Chinese products like tracksuits, jackets and crockery.

5. Role of Himachal Tourism Development Corporation

Himachal is known as “A Destination for All Seasons and All Reasons.” Quoted by the Tourism Policy, 2005 of the Government of Himachal Pradesh has made it quite evident that a tourist can come and relish the flavors of Himachal Pradesh for adventure, wildlife, marine, religious, mountain, medical or any other activity and in any season whether it is summer, winter, Autumn or Spring.

Himachal Tourism Development Corporation in its actionable agenda (Tourism Policy, 2005) has given importance to the development and promotion of Pilgrimage tourism for improving the quality of lifecycle of the local residents. It has also started developing and promoting various fairs and festivals through which they have been cited in different forms of media and tourism website.

The fairs and festivals have been classified into: -

  1. International Fairs & Festivals
  2. State Level Fairs & Festivals
  1. International Fairs and Festivals: The Tourism Department has promoted a number of International levels of fairs and festivals. These have been promoted in order to generate foreign earnings and promote the interests in Himachal Pradesh tourism globally. There are certain fairs and festivals which are week long and others are of 3 – 4 days. Some are celebrated in order to mark a religious event like the famous International KulluDussehra Fair, wherein the local deities across the length and breadth of Himachal Pradesh take part through processions from their native place to Kullu and they stay until the end of the fair.

These International Fairs and Festivals celebrated and organized in Himachal Pradesh are tabulated as follows: -

Table – 1 (A)

International Fairs and Festivals

Sr. No. / Name of the Fair and Festival / Type / Place / Duration / Month / Special Attraction
1. / International Shimla Summer Festival / Cultural / Mall Road, Shimla / 05 days / May – June / Cultural activities like singing, dancing, etc.
2. / International Lavi Fair / Trade / Rampur, Shimla / 04 days / 11 – 14 November / Trade (Dry fruits, handicrafts, handlooms, etc.) and Cultural activities
3. / International Minjar Fair / Cultural / Chamba / 07 days / July - August / Sports & Cultures
Traditional songs, distribution of silk tassel (Minjar)
4. / International KulluDussehra Fair / Cultural / Kullu / 07 - 10 days / October – November / Assembly of hundreds of local deities at ShriRaghunathJi temple, cultural activities and exhibitions
  1. State Fairs & Festivals:The Tourism Department has also been promoting various State levels of fairs and festivals. These fairs are promoted in order to generate domestic earnings and promote the interests in Himachal Pradesh tourism country wise. These fairs and festivals are of different durations ranging from a day to a week. Nalwari fair is celebrated in Bilaspur district in the month of March. The significant feature of this fair is the buying and selling of cattle for the purpose of agriculture. Other cultural events are also organized in order to make this fair attractive to other people and tourist who are not involved in agriculture.

These State Fairs and Festivals celebrated and organized in Himachal Pradesh are tabulated as follows: -

Table – 1 (B)

State Fairs and Festivals

Sr. No. / Name of the Fair and Festival / Type / Place / Month / Special Attraction
1. / Shivratri Fair / Religious / Mandi / February/ March / Cultural and religious events
2. / Holi Fair / Cultural / Sujanpur / March / Cultural and religious events
3. / Nalwari Fair / Trade / Bilaspur / March / Trade and Cultural events
4. / Renuka Fair / Cultural / Sirmaur / November / Cultural and religious events
5. / Shoolini Fair / Cultural / Solan / June / Cultural
6. / Chaichu Fair / Religious / Mandi / March / Cultural and religious events

The Department of Tourism is continuously making efforts to promote these local fairs and festivals as tourism attractions through different means of communications like electronic and print media.

The efforts made through the electronic media may be classified into: -

  1. Through the internet: - The Tourism department, promotes these fairs and festivals through –

I)Website (himachaltourism.gov.in) on the Events page: -

On these websites, the Department of Tourism posts basic information about the celebration of various International, National and State level fairs and festivals.

These websites gives the information regarding: -

  1. the type of event – Cultural, Trade, Religious or others
  2. the duration of the event – 3 days, 5 days or one week
  3. Major attractions – singing, dancing, archery, trade, etc.
  4. Places to visit – the places to visit near the event are also promoted
  5. Hotels – the tourism hotels and restaurants, log huts, etc.

II)Newsletters and Mailers: -

These fairs and festivals are also promoted through the Event Newsletter and Event Mailers that are sent electronically to those who have subscribed to the HPTDC’s website.

  1. Through television: - Television is the most popular mode of advertising. There are many State Tourism Boards which spend a huge amount of money in their television campaigning. To quote a few Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation has received the Award for the best promotion advertisement in 2010. There are other states like Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala who are promoting the State through Tourism Development Boards. Himachal Pradesh having the magnificent tourism attractions is also promoting its beautiful places though the advertisement campaigning by the name “Unforgettable Himachal”. These have an engulfing impact on the tourists who are planning to visit the state.

The efforts made through print media may be classified as: -

  1. Brochures, Leaflets and Pamphlets: - The promotion of these fairs and festivals are also promoted through the Brochures, Leaflets and pamphlets that are acting as a reference material in the Tourism Information Centers and HPTDC Hotels. These may also be promoted in leaflets and pamphlets form in Local taxi unions, other local hotels, etc.
  2. Monthly magazines: - Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department also promotes the special events, fairs and festivals, scenic spots inn its magazine “Monal”. The magazine is a monthly publication which can be subscribed to or collected from the Tourism Information Centers in the state as well as others in major cities.
  1. Newspaper advertisements: - Newspaper being the most widely spread promotional material available in the printed form also creates a great impact on the State’s Tourism Developmental activities. Promotion through this media reaches in the most distant places in the states. The events may be promoted as an article or an advertisement text and photograph. Promotion of the Thoda Festival, Solan and International Summer and Winter Festivals are the most widely promoted festivals by HPTDC.

6. Conclusion