Sustainable Destination Development in Sacred Cities: Evidence from Ujjain, India

Abstract

Sacred cities are unique tourist destinations where the spiritual dimension, the living tradition and the concentration of tourism impact are combined in a concentrated area within the city. The aim of this study is to explore the sustainability of destination development in Ujjain which is one of the seven Moksha-puri and hosts the twelve yearly Simhastha Kumbh festival, at Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Temple. After the construction of Mahakal Lok corridor during 2022, Ujjain saw its footfall increase from around 1.5 crore to more than 7.3 crore each year, resulting in significant economic benefits and severe environmental and infrastructural pressures. The study uses the Triple Bottom Line paradigm and a Boullón–Cifuentes carrying-capacity approach, incorporating both primary and secondary data from tourism, municipal and pollution-control sources to assess the impacts of tourism on the three pillars.The study applies the Triple Bottom Line framework and a Boullón–Cifuentes approach to carrying capacity, which involves a primary survey of 420 stakeholders (tourists, residents, local businesses and officials), as well as secondary data from tourism, municipal and pollution-control sources to establish impacts on the three pillars of tourism. The results reflect high positive economic and socio-cultural results (mean scores > 4.0 on a scale of 1574-1585), but low environmental performance with Shipra River water quality (2.31) and waste management (2.58) scoring low. Carrying capacity analysis shows that the number of people using the core precinct at peak times is three times the amount that is sustainable. A comparative benchmarking with Ujjain, Varanasi and Tirupati and Shirdi points out that Ujjain has a stronger economic momentum while there is a gap in the environmental governance. The paper suggests an integrated Sustainable Destination Development framework between sacred city assets, institutional investment and balanced Triple Bottom Line outcomes as evidence-based guidance, for the preparatory work of the Simhastha 2028 and similar pilgrimage cities.