From Pilgrimage to Preservation: Contesting Tourism Futures at Kanyakumari’s Coastal Edge

Name of Author : Mr. Cijo Christober. J

Abstract: Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of mainland India, occupies an anomalous position in the geography of Indian tourism. The town functions as a sacred Hindu pilgrimage site, a monument to nationalist revivalism, and a domestic leisure tourist destination while its residents contend with the economic disruptions caused by mass tourism. The article examines Kanyakumari’s evolution from a prehistoric pearl hunting town into a tourist destination by tracing the historical aspects that created its present identity as India’s Land’s End. The article presents Kanyakumari’s tourism development process through academic literature, tourism research, and heritage studies to show that the tourism development process creates two opposing forces, which create an economic need for tourist development while protecting local cultural and ecological resources. The study examines three interconnected aspects, which include pilgrimage and heritage and infrastructure gaps, and new sustainable solutions to demonstrate that Kanyakumari needs to balance its national identity with its actual community experience because that balance determines its future. The results demonstrate that the town’s authentic charm will disappear without intentional measures, since visitors will diminish its true essence, which will lead to the town losing its genuine cultural heritage character.

Keywords : Kanyakumari, tourism, pilgrimage, heritage, sustainable, identity.

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