Indian Tourists. Market Potential in Andaman Cluster (Phuket, Krabi and Phang-Nga), Thailand

The nearest railhead is eighty-five kilometers away. [78] There seems to be a difference of motive for traveling to Dharamsala between (white) Westerners and other visitors. The influence of Exotica Tibet is less noticeable in the case of Japanese and Korean visitors (for whom Dharamsala is often only one part of a Buddhist pilgrimage circuit in India) or Indian tourists (for whom it is a replacement for crowded hill stations like Simla). This is not to say that all the Westerners who come here are affected by the Shangri-la myth (since many come for the same reasons as they visit Kullu, Manali, or Goa-the "hippy trail") or that all non-Western tourists are immune to it. [79] The crucial role played by the Nowrojee family (the biggest proprietor here) in encouraging the development of Little Lhasa needs to be kept in mind. The Nowrojee store's pivotal location at the McLeod Gunj bus stop stands as a silent symbol of this role. [80] The place is named after Sir Donald Friel McLeod, lieutenant governor of Punjab in the mid-nineteenth century. [81] Though it is rare for such tensions between Tibetans and local Indians to erupt in full-fledged rioting, the resentment of the locals against Tibetans, who are perceived as wealthier, is evident ...»