Microentrepreneurship in Himalayan Region: Drafting Heritage Sustenance Through Stakeholders Perception

Abstract

The debate pertaining to poverty alleviation and increased employment opportunities for tourism microentrepreneurship has recently emerged as an area of investigation in the spheres of academic research. The role of tourism microentrepreneurship in strengthening rural communities has been researched by various tourism researchers and practitioners across the globe in the last few decades. The present study is aimed towards finding out the stakeholder's perception towards microentrepreneurship as a tool for conserving cultural, natural, and built heritage, particularly in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. To achieve the objectives of this study, a qualitative method has been adopted. The proposed method to investigate stakeholder perception is based on a two-step procedure. The first step identifies the sustainable practices available in the targeted area, and in the second stage current entrepreneurial practices among the microentrepreneurs are investigated through interviews with the respondents to determine the accountability of those practices with sustainable heritage development in the study area. The findings of the study reflect that there is a gap between the microentrepreneurship practices and the sustainable development in the study area. There is also a lack of policies and support from the side of governing bodies. Hence, the study puts forward the fact that despite several challenges, sustainable microentrepreneurship can offer a potential solution to poverty alleviation in the Himalayan region of India. The economic benefits of sustainable micro-entrepreneurship are compelling, and its potential effects on the improvement of the overall lifestyle of stakeholders are equally promising.