22, October 2025

Digital Governance for Sustainable Tourism in Rural Kerala: A Qualitative Exploration

VOLUME-9; ISSUE-10; OCT-2025

Author(s): Malavika Vijayan

Authors Affiliations:

ICSSR Doctoral Fellow, Department of Public Administration and Policy Studies, Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod, India

DOIs:10.2017/IJRCS/202510003     |     Paper ID: IJRCS202510003


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Abstract:    Kerala tourism became one of the major economic drivers in India. Tourism impacts the local people by increasing their livelihood, standard of living and environmental consciousness. This study explores the impact of digital governance on the transformation of rural tourism to Sustainable rural tourism in Kerala. It examine how digital strategies from e-governance initiatives to digital marketing, promote sustainable tourism development. The study explored how digital technologies can highlight the unique cultural heritage, natural beauty and traditional livelihoods of rural Kerala. A qualitative research approach was employed for the study which identified the challenges such as inadequacy of digital infrastructure, skill deficits, and problems in community involvement in the digital transformation in rural areas. It also identifies ways to mitigate these challenges. The findings revealed that digital governance is transforming the rural tourism destinations of Kerala into sustainable tourism destinations that offer a replicable model for sustainable tourism development globally.

 
Digital Governance, Rural Development, Sustainable Development Goals, Sustainable Tourism.

Malavika Vijayan (2025):    Digital Governance for Sustainable Tourism in Rural Kerala: A Qualitative Exploration, International Journal of Research Culture Society,    ISSN(O): 2456-6683,  Volume – 9,   Issue –  10,  Pp.16-23.        Available on – https://ijrcs.org/

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