~ 42 ~ International Journal of Geography, Geology and Environment 2021; 3(1): 42-45 P-ISSN: 2706-7483 E-ISSN: 2706-7491 IJGGE 2021; 3(1): 42-45 Received: 18-01-2021 Accepted: 21-03-2021 Dr. Bhuwan Chandra Melkani Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce, M.B. Govt. P.G. College Haldwani, Nainital, Uttarakhand, India Anil Kumar Research Scholar, Department of Commerce, M.B. Govt. P.G. College, Haldwani, Nainital, Uttarakhand, India Corresponding Author: Anil Kumar Research Scholar, Department of Commerce, M.B. Govt. P.G. College, Haldwani, Nainital, Uttarakhand, India Problems and prospects of tourism in the Kumaun region of Uttarakhand Dr. Bhuwan Chandra Melkani and Anil Kumar DOI: https://doi.org/10.22271/27067483.2021.v3.i1a.52 Abstract In modern world tourism is emerged as one of the largest service-sector industry and generates national income as well as job opportunities especially for local population and become an avenue of economic and social development and cultural exchange. Tourism is not merely an activity for leisure and entertainment but it also an enriching and energizing activity. Uttarakhand known as Devbhoomi or ‘Abode of Gods’ is a site of temples and pilgrimage, endowed with salubrious climate, exotic greenery, rich flora besides its rich culture. The Kumaon region of the state of Uttarakhand is attracting tourist in large numbers and is becoming one of the preferred choice of visit. Beside all this the tourism industry in the region is facing some problems which need to be considered to capitalize the potential of tourism in the Kumaun region. The present paper tries to analyze the problem as well as prospects of tourism development in the Kumaun region of the Uttarakhand state, the nature of the research is Descriptive and based on the secondary sources of data. The study results reveals that no doubt there are many challenges and problems for tourism development, but with certain improvements and proper planning the prospects for tourism development can be capitalized. Keywords: Kumaun region, tourism industry, tourism prospects, challenges Introduction Travel has been a part of human life since time immemorial. Early people used to travel with different needs and motives, the first being travel for search for food. Food searchers are considered the first travelers. This was followed by those who travelled with motive of trade. Many kingdoms were evolved and battles were took place to extend the reign of the emperors of that time. Tourism is not a new phenomenon that evolved overnight rather it took decades to evolve travel and tourism in the shape that we see today. Travel and tourism existed in different ways in different times. Tourism is a multidimensional phenomenon, which have its social, economic, natural, political impacts which are positive as well as negative. Being one of the fastest growing service sector most of the economies are trying their best to capture major share in the tourism industry as a means of getting competitive edge over other countries of the world. Tourism has its testimonies in the earliest records of history and has undergone phenomenal rate of growth during the present century. Yet there is no universally accepted definition of tourism even now. Huniker and Krapf gave the first definition of tourism by defining it as “The sum of phenomenon and relationship arising from the travel and stay of non-resident in so far as it does not lead to permanent residence and is not connected to any earning activity”,(Dileep, 2019) [3] . In general tourism can be defined as a process involving a visit performed by a person from his place of residence to some far destination for more than one day and which does not anyhow related to motive of earning. With the advancement in accommodation and transportation facilities which are the two major elements of travel industry, it is very easy to go anywhere anytime to explore destination and to spend leisure time. This development took years and decades to transform the tourism industry, one of the major transformation that took place in the travel and tourism industry is after the world wars and especially the world war 2. The state of Uttarakhand which is also known as “Abode of Gods”, is one of the preferred tourist destination across the globe. The state was formed as the 27 th state on 9 th of November 2000. There are two divisions of the state namely the Kumaun and the Garhwal region.