Development of a Tourist Attraction-A Case Study of the Sacred Grove, Holiyechirai in Goa

Nature worship is practiced in India as well as in other parts of the world. Various forms of nature worship exist; worshiping sacred groves being one such form of nature worship. In India, nature worship dates back to the pre-vedic times. While sacred sites have touristic appeal, sacred groves are different from others that have been developed for tourism. In order to protect the sacred grove vegetation and yet make the visitor experience more meaningful, well designed tourist facilities need be created to for the benefit of visitors.

This paper is a case study on the sacred grove, Holiyechirai located in the village of Caranzol in the North of Goa and aims at bringing out the stage of development the grove is at using two attraction development frameworks viz. Dean Maccannell Sight Sacralization Theory and Clare Gunn Theory.