Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Tourism: A Study of Indian Knowledge System of East India

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-795-8_10How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Cultural Heritage; Sustainable Tourism; Indian Knowledge System; East India

Abstract

India is known for its rich cultural heritage and sustainable tourism practices in all historical texts and recordings. One of the significant parts of this practice has been the Indian Knowledge System (IKS), which is considered as an indispensable part of the ethos of Indian civilisation. It has enabled the sustenance of cultural heritage and tourism in the country. Under this backdrop, the paper aims to study the intersection of cultural heritage and sustainable tourism. It has to be accomplished through the lens of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) in the Eastern region of India with a particular focus on the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand. In order to remain focused and produce significant results, we are focusing on the selected states or regions. Perhaps, that is the limitation of this study as well. It is often argued that the IKS is rooted in ancient philosophies, indigenous Indian practices and bio-cultural traditions. It offers a framework of understanding for tourism development with heritage preservation in the selected region. Therefore, the paper aims to assess how traditional knowledge (e.g. ecological wisdom from tribal communities) can promote generative tourism models that minimize environmental impact, thereby empowering the local economies at the same time. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, we aim to deploy a mixed-methods approach that combines ethnographic data as primary source and other existing literature as secondary sources. Moreover, the paper makes an attempt to fathom the role of IKS in encouraging eco-friendly practices in the region, which are a significant part of Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. The indigenous knowledge is considered ancestral and ancient and that has been passed down from one generation to the next generation. This knowledge can be adequately integrated with ease into tourism practices of the region. In fact, it is already in use. Hence, we attempt to examine how concepts of traditional resource management, sacred geography and community-based ethics can guide and promote responsible and ethical tourism in the region. Irrespective of the existing practices and knowledge, the region does not lack contemporary challenges. For this reason, we argue that the IKS in East India can be utilized to make a case study for sustainable tourism. Some of the critical questions that we would like to ask are: How can we ensure a symbiotic relationship between tourism and cultural preservation? Can we be the pioneers to introduce a novel tourism paradigm that provides deeper and more authentic experiences to tourists, while also providing collective benefits to the communities? Thus, we aim to contribute to the realm of academic discussions and policy-formulation in regard to a more balanced and sustainable tourism in the region.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Vinay Kumar Gupta
AU  - Madhukar Shyam
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/08
TI  - Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Tourism: A Study of Indian Knowledge System of East India
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Advancing Economics (ICAE): Redefining Growth: Integrating Economy Society and Sustainability for a Resilient Future (ICAE 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 149
EP  - 163
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-795-8_10
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-795-8_10
ID  - Gupta2026
ER  -