**6. Results and discussion**

Estimation of total area, area required per tourists, PCC, RCC, and ECC for various beaches of the South Andaman was worked out based on the methodology described above and the results are shown in **Table 1**. The beach quality assessment of matrix of each locations and the management measure analysis are given in **Tables 2** and **3**, respectively. **Figures 1** and **2** provide the assessment of TCC for beaches of Port Blair region. The beaches chosen for the present study are the existing tourism sites declared by the Andaman Administration.

**Figure 1.** Study area map showing the locations of the beaches in South Andaman.

**Figure 2.** Tourist favorite beaches in South Andaman.A—Shoal Bay; B—Colinpur; C—Jahaji Dera; D—Barabalu; E— Burmanala; F—Kurmadera; G—South Cinque Island; H—North Cinque Island; I—Chidyatapu; J—Red Skin; K—North Bay; L—Badagadi; M—Jolly Buoy; N—Carbyns Cove; O—Wandoor.


+++ = Fine; ++ = Moderate; + = Low; − = Not available.

**Table 3.** Management measure analysis and tourisms activities for beaches of South Andaman.

PCC includes the maximum number of tourists that can physically be present at a certain time and place and shall not exceed this range. Rotation factor is considered as an important indicator for the development of management strategies for beach tourism, as it influences the tourism capacity of a certain place. The numbers of the PCC are only theoretical and RCC was calculated to check the extreme value of PCC considering some correction factors. Correction factors that have been considered for this study include rainfall, strong wind, sunshine, cyclone, and beach quality. Excluding beach quality, all correction factors considering for RCC are same on all over the islands.

The total RCC of Port Blair area is 332,487 visitors/day, which in other words is the maximum permissible number of people that should be allowed in the concerned area. Port Blair region (including Ferragunj) spreads over an area of 3106 km2 with ~45% of ANI's population. Port Blair, besides being the only town in ANI, is also the only entry point. Being the capital city, Port Blair houses all the government and administrative offices of the UT. The main tourist season in the region is between the months of November and April. Port Blair has a constant stream of visitors (almost all the current tourists arrivals happen through Port Blair). The tourists arrival for the year 2013–2014 was 258,418 (with 17,811 foreign tourists). This translates to an average of ~700 visitors a day.

The places of tourist interest in the south Andaman district include place of historical interest such as Cellular Jail and Rose Island (Port Blair), creeks, beaches, trekking, anthropological museum, forest museums, emporiums and garden and parks. Cellular Jail is located on the North East of Port Blair town was completed in 1906 and is a National Memorial. It derives its name for its individual cells for the solitary confinement of India's freedom fighters and prisoners. Ross Island was the original capital during the British regime and this tiny island (0.6 km2 area) is 10 minutes ferry journey from Port Blair. This island has remnants of the ball room, chief commissioner's house, government house, church, cemetery, hospital, bakery, press, swimming pool, and troop barracks all in extreme dilapidated condition reminiscent of bygone British era. Chatham Saw Mill is the Asia's largest saw mill and is located North of Port Blair and in the Chatham Island. The mill is the storehouse of a variety of wood species. Carbyn's Cove is a beach located 7 km from Port Blair. Historical Japanese bunkers can be seen here. Snake Island is also located in the vicinity and it is recommended for scuba diving. Red Skin and Jolly Buoy Islands are located southwest of Port Blair and can be approached from Wandoor jetty. The Mahatma Gandhi National Park, it offers tourist attractions on coral marine life which can be best viewed with the help of the glass bottomed boats. The North Cinque Island is located south of Port Blair and linked to the South Cinque Island by a sand bar. North Cinque Island has a wildlife sanctuary and underwater coral is the main interest of the tourists.

The Mc was estimated for various beaches based on the analysis of the tourism activities and facilities available at each tourist destination. It varied among the different destinations ranging from 0.07 to 0.85. It is observed that the beaches of the Port Blair region, namely, Shoal Bay, Colinpur, Jahaji Dera, Burmanala, Barabalu, Kurmadera, and Cinque Islands, with low Mc (<0.5), may be given priority for infrastructure development such as transportation and hotel facilities and tourist's safety to be ensured. The other beaches (having Mc > 0.5) such as Chidyatapu, Red Skin, North Bay, Badagadi, Wandoor, Carbyns Cove, and Jolly Buoy have adequate facilities for tourism operations and such activities need to be continued (**Table 3**).

Beach quality is one of the most important parameters, which may have direct impact on the quality of beach tourism as it has negative impact on the tourist's mind and may reduce the satisfactory level of tourists. The beach quality of the study site was examined based on several indicators viz., material of the beaches, slope, tide, beach length, beach color, litter, and quality of water. It was observed that the beaches of Badagadi, Jahaji Dera, Chidaytapu, Jolly buoy, Wandoor, Red Skin, Kurmadera, and Cinque islands (Mc > 0.7) have good beach quality, support tourism activities (**Table 2**).
