Main Article Content
Abstract
Tourism industry has steadily acquired an increasingly significant position in the global economy. A naive impression of it may illustrate the industry merely as a provider of basic facilities with a view to meet the expectations and perceptions of the tourists. A closer look would, however, reveal that, it incorporates and entails a whole set of complex factors and forces. Tourism promotes people-to-people contacts, ethnic cultural understanding, mutual appreciation and co-operation, thereby promoting peace.Kerala is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world with its unique culture and traditions, combined with its varied demography. The government tourism program, based on the local culture, wildlife experience, charitable work and personal development of the local population, encourages environmentally sustainable tourism.This paper try to analyze the effect of tourism on the host communities and to examine whether tourism have any effect on their socio-economic status.