CASE STUDY 4 -SOUTH ASIA-

MAP OF SOUTH ASIA

TOURISM IN INDIA

• Tourism is the largest service industry in India, with a contribution of 6.23% to the national GDP and 8.78% of the total employment in India. India witnesses more than 5 million annual foreign tourist arrivals and 562 million domestic tourism visits. The tourism industry in India generated about US$100 billion in 2008 and that is expected to increase to US$275.5 billion by 2018 at a 9.4% annual growth rate.
• In the year 2009, 5.11 million foreign tourists visited India. Majority of foreign tourists come from USA and UK and Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh were the top four states to receive inbound tourists.
• Domestic tourism in the same year was massive at 650 million. Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu received the big share of these visitors. According to World Travel and Tourism Council, India will be a tourism hotspot from 2009–2018, having the highest 10-year growth potential. 
• Tourism in India need to be understood in the global context of competing destinations. It may be thought of as multiple Indias with a multitude of competing destinations Goa, Rajasthan,Kerela, Assam, Kashmir under the India umbrella.
• India's 5000 years of history, its length, breadth and the variety of geographic features make its tourism basket large and varied. It presents heritage and cultural tourism along with medical, business and sports tourism. India has a growing medical tourism sector. The 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi are expected to significantly boost tourism in India.

TOURISM IN PAKISTAN

• Tourism in Pakistan has been stated as being the tourism industry's next big thing. Pakistan with its diverse cultures, people and landscapes has attracted 0.7 million tourists to the country. Almost double to that of a decade ago.
• The country's attraction range from the ruin of civilization such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and Taxila, to the Himalayan hill stations, which attract those interested in winter sports. 
• Pakistan is home to several mountain peaks over 7000 m, which attracts adventurers and mountaineers from around the world, especially K2. The north part of Pakistan has many old fortresses, ancient architecture and the Hunza and Chitral valley, home to small pre-Islamic AnimistKalasha community claiming descent from Alexander the Great. The romance of the historic Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is timeless and legendary. Punjab province has the site of Alexander's battle on the Jhelum River and the historic city Lahore, Pakistan's cultural capital, with many examples of Mughal architecture such as Badshahi Masjid, Shalimar Gardens, Tomb of Jahangir and the Lahore Fort. Before the Global economic crisis Pakistan received more than 500,000 tourists annually.
• In October 2006, just one year after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, The Guardian released what it described as "The top five tourist sites in Pakistan" in order to help the country's tourism industry. The five sites included Taxila, Lahore, The Karakoram Highway, Karimabad and Lake Saiful Muluk. 
• In 2009, The World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Pakistan as one of the top 25% tourist destinations for its World Heritage sites. Ranging from mangroves in the South, to the 5,000-year-old cities of the Indus Valley Civilization which included Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa.

HISTORY

TAJ MAHAL, INDIA

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east. Topographically, it is dominated by the Indian Plate, which rises above sea level as the Indian subcontinent south of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush. South Asia is surrounded clockwise, from west by Western Asia, Central Asia,Eastern Asia, Southeastern Asia and the Indian Ocean. Due to similar scope, South Asia is also referred to as the Indian subcontinent in general usage.According to the United Nations geographical region classification,Southern Asia comprises the countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Afghanistan, Iran and Sri Lanka. By other definitions and interpretations  Myanmar and Tibet are also sometimes included in the region of South Asia.

GEOGRAPHICAL PHYSICAL REGIONS AND CLIMATE SOUTH ASIA

AIR FORCE MUSEUM KARACHI, PAKISTAN

The boundaries of South Asia vary based on how South Asia is defined. South Asia's north, east, and west boundaries vary based on definitions used, while the Indian Ocean lies in the South. It is a peninsular region in south-central Asia, rather resembling a diamond which is delineated by the Himalayas on the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Arakanese in the east, and which extends southward into the Indian Ocean with the Arabian Sea to the southwest and the Bay of Bengal to the southeast. The UN subregion of Southern Asia's northern boundary would be the Himalayas, its western boundary would be made up of the Iraq-Iran border, Turkey-Iran border, Armenia-Iran border, and the Azerbaijan-Iran border. Its eastern boundary would be the India-Burma border and the Bangladesh-Burma border.

MAHABODHI TEMPLE, INDIA

Most of this region is a subcontinent resting on the Indian Plate (the northerly portion of the Indo-Australian Plate) separated from the rest of Eurasia. It was once a small continent before colliding with the Eurasian Plate about 50-55 million years ago and giving birth to the Himalayan range and the Tibetan plateau. It is the peninsular region south of the Himalayas and Kuen Lunmountain ranges and east of the Indus River and the Iranian Plateau, extending southward into the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea (to the southwest) and the Bay of Bengal (to the southeast).

The region is home to an astounding variety of geographical features, such as glaciers, rainforests, valleys, deserts, and grasslands that are typical of much larger continents. It is surrounded by three water bodies the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. The climate of this vast region varies considerably from area to area from tropical monsoon in the south to temperate in the north. The variety is influenced by not only the altitude, but also by factors such as proximity to the sea coast and the seasonal impact of the monsoons.

IMPORTANCE GEOGRAPHICAL PHYSICAL AND CLIMATE SOUTH ASIA TOURISM

BADSHAHI MOSQUE, PAKISTAN

Most of this region is a subcontinent resting on the Indian Plate (the northerly portion of the Indo-Australian Plate) separated from the rest of Eurasia. It was once a small continent before colliding with the Eurasian Plate about 50-55 million years ago and giving birth to the Himalayan range and the Tibetan plateau. It is the peninsular region south of the Himalayas and Kuen Lun mountain ranges and east of the Indus River and the Iranian Plateau, extending southward into the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea (to the southwest) and the Bay of Bengal (to the southeast).

The region is home to an astounding variety of geographical features, such as glaciers, rainforests, valleys, deserts, and grasslands that are typical of much larger continents. It is surrounded by three water bodies the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. The climate of this vast region varies considerably from area to area from tropical monsoon in the south to temperate in the north. The variety is influenced by not only the altitude, but also by factors such as proximity to the sea coast and the seasonal impact of the monsoons.

Southern parts are mostly hot in summers and receive rain during monsoon period. The northern belt of Indo-Gangetic plains also is hot in summer, but cooler in winter. The mountainous north is colder and receives snowfall at higher altitudes of Himalayan ranges. As the Himalayas block the north-Asian bitter cold winds, the temperatures are considerably moderate in the plains down below. For most part, the climate of the region is called the Monsoon climate, which keeps the region humid during summer and dry during winter, and favors the cultivation of jute, tea, rice and various vegetables in this region.

DEMOGRAPHY

Population

The distribution of population, depends to a large extent on the quality of the land and itself, which is very uneven. Where the land is well suited to agricultural or there are natural resources for industrial development the population will naturally be larger than in areas where climatic conditions are hostile or where resources are few.

Thus the distribution of population has all along been quite uneven. More than 90% of population lives in the Northern hemisphere. The continent of Asia (inc.ex-USSR) alone has nearly two thirds of the World's population. 

Country                    Population (in million)

China                                     1050

India                                       850

ex-Soviet Union                       280

The United States                    241

Indonesia                                168

Brazil                                     143

Japan                                     122

Nigeria                                   105

Bangladesh                              104

Pakistan                                  102

Ethnic Group

NALANDA, INDIA

South Asia which consists of the nations of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka is ethnically diverse, with more than 2,000 ethnic entities with populations ranging from hundreds of millions to small tribal groups. South Asia has been invaded and settled by many ethnic groups over the centuries - including various Dravidian, Indo-Aryan and Iranian groups and amalgamation of Dravidian, Indo-Aryan and native societies has produced composite cultures with many common traditions and beliefs.

CLIMATE

PAKISTAN MONUMENT

The climate of South Asia can be divided into three basic kinds which is tropical, dry, and temperate. The northeast is from tropical to subtropical (temperate). Moving west the moisture and elevation change, causing a steppe and a desert climate that is like the Middle East. There is also a part of steppe climate in the center of the lower peninsula. Two parts of the South Aisna climate especially affect the people. One is the monsoons. These changing winds bring lots of the area's rain, so when they do not come early, the land becomes very dry. Hurricanes also happen every year and sometimes destroy many things. In the extreme north of India and Pakistan, the climate is affected by the mountains.

NATURAL RESOURCES

The natural resource most used by the people is the rich land. Most of the people living there are farmers. They make lots of cashews, millets, peanuts, sesame seeds, and tea. Lots of natural gas are there, but these resources are usually underdeveloped. Many people there raise cattle and sheep. The cattle are raised for their milk or to carry things in Hindu areas.

CASE STUDY 3 -MIDDLE EAST-

HISTORY

MAP OF UAE

The Middle East lies at the juncture of Eurasia and Africa and of the Mediterranean Sea and the India Ocean. It is the birthplace and spiritual center of the Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Yezidi, and in Iran, Mithraism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism and the Bahai Faith. Throughout its history the Middle East has been a major center of world affairs  a strategically, economically, politically, culturally, and religiously sensitive area.The modern Middle East began after World War I, when the Ottoman Empire, which was allied with the defeated Central Powers, was partitioned into a number of separate nations. Other defining events in this transformation included the establishment of Israel in 1948 and the departure of European powers, notably Britain and France. They were supplanted in some part by the rising influence of the United States.

MAP OF SAUDI ARABIA

In the 20th century, the region's significant stocks of crude oil gave it new strategic and economic importance. Mass production of oil began around 1945, with Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates having large quantities of oil. Estimated oil reserves, especially in Saudi Arabia and Iran, are some of the highest in the world, and the international oil cartel OPEC is dominated by Middle Eastern countries.

MIDDLE EAST COUNTRIES

The Middle East (from a European perspective) is a region that encompasses Western Asia and North Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East. The corresponding adjective is Middle-Eastern and the derived noun is Middle-Easterner.

MAP OF MIDDLE EAST

The history of the Middle East dates back to ancient times, and throughout its history, the Middle East has been a major centre of world affairs. When discussing ancient history, however, the term Near East is more commonly used. The Middle East is also the historical origin of major religions such as Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The Middle East generally has an rid and hot climate, with several major rivers providing for irrigation to support agriculture in limited areas. Many countries located around the Persian Gulf have large quantities of crude oil. In modern times the Middle East remains a strategically, economically, politically, culturally and religiously sensitive region. The Middle East expected economic growth rate is at about 4.1% for 2010 and 5.1% in 2011.

GEOGRAPHICAL OF THE MIDDLE EAST

PHYSICAL REGIONS

The Middle East region represents an area of over 5.0 million square miles. The physical geography of the Middle East is varied. Vast deserts are common in the region. The Sahara Desert runs across North Africa, essentially limiting settlement to along the Mediterranean coastline and in Egypt along the Nile River. The desert of the Arabian Peninsula is so inhospitable that it has been given the name "The Empty Quarter." Other significant deserts exist throughout the region. In areas better served by rainfall and rivers (for example the Tigris-Euphrates river system, the Jordan River, and along the Mediterranean coast), rich agriculture is abundant. Mountain ranges exist throughout the region with some peaks rising as high as 19,000 feet. Snow is a common sight in these mountain ranges. Between the mountains, high plateaus are common.

Ease of movement in and out of the Middle East by water is also affected by the presence of a number of narrow water passageways. Gibraltar controls the water route linking the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Water access between the Mediterranean and Black Seas is only possible through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, which in some places is only half a mile wide. Other critical water routes would include: the Suez Canal, which links the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea; Bab el Mandeb, a strait that separates the Red Sea from the Indian Ocean; and the Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. 

CLIMATE

There is very little rain in this area with a large portion of the area being desert. Great care needs to be taking when travelling to avoid sun stroke and heat exhaustion. In the hottest months deserts should be avoided by the independent traveller unless you have survival skills. Along the coastal areas there is high humidity.

DUBAI, UAE

To the north the desert turns to great steppes, in this area expect extremes of temperature and rain in winter and spring. Over the rest of the area rain falls between March and November. Floods can occur due from March to May.

Along the Mediterranean coast the summers are long and hot and the winters mild and wet. The coastal areas can be humid but this is usually counteract by a steady breeze.

IMPORTANCE OF GEOGRAPHICAL

Physical Regions and Climate 

• The importance of the region to the world centers on its vast reserves of oil and oil related wealth.
• Its role as cultural hearth for the world's major religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
• The area historically as a cradle of civilization.
• Its present strategic location and repeated conflicts that threaten to draw other regions of the world into global war.

DEMOGRAPHY

Population

 Egypt 79,011,0002

 Turkey 77,804,1223

 Iran 75,078,0004

 Iraq31,467,0005

 Saudi Arabia 27,136,9776

 Yemen 24,256,0007

 Syria 22,505,0008

 Israel 7,627,8009

 Jordan 6,472,00010

 United Arab Emirates 4,707,00011

 Lebanon 4,255,00012

 Palestinian Authority 3,935,24913

 Kuwait 3,051,00014

 Oman 2,905,00015

 Qatar 1,696,56316

 Bahrain 807,000

NATURAL RESOURCES
Oil and water

JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA

The Middle East has always had a rich abundance of natural resources, although which resources are coveted and valued has changed over time. Today, abundant petroleum fields dominate the area's economy. The Middle East is similarly disproportionately rich in natural gas (32 percent of the world's known natural gas reserves are in the region) and phosphate (Morocco alone has more than half of the world's reserves).
Water has always been an important resource in the Middle East -- for its relative scarcity rather than its abundance. Disputes over rights to water (for example, building a dam in one country upstream from another) are a fundamental part of the political relationships in the region. Water for irrigation is necessary for many of the ecosystems to sustain crops
Another resource of vital importance to the region is water. Egypt, Iran, and Turkey are the only countries in the region with abundant fresh water resources. Roughly two-thirds of the Arab world depend on sources outside their borders for their water supply.

CASE STUDY 2 -CENTRAL EUROPE-

MAP OF CENTRAL EUROPE

Central Europe is a core region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. The concept of Central Europe is Central European culture as controversial and debated the notion maybe exists. It is based on similarities emanating from historical, social and cultural and it is identified as having been one of the world's richest sources of creative talent between the 17th and 20th centuries. From the 2000's on, Central Europe is going through a phase of strategic awakening, with initiatives like the CEI, Centrope and V4. While the region's economy shows high disparities with regard to income, all Central European countries are listed by the Human Development Index as very high development countries.


HISTORY

MAP OF GERMANY

CAPITAL CITY OF GERMANY

• In 1335 the castle of Visegrad, the seat of the Kings of Hungary was the scene of the royal summit of the Kings of Poland, Bohemia and Hungary.
•  The concept of Central Europe was already known at the beginning of the 19th century, but its real life began in the 20th century and immediately became an object of intensive interes.
• On 21 January 1904 - Mitteleuropäischer Wirtschaftsverein (Central European Economic Association) was established in Berlin with economic integration of Germany and Austria–Hungary (with eventual extension to Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands) as its main aim.
• The “bible” of the concept was Friedrich Naumann's book Mitteleuropa in which he called for an economic federation to be established after the war.
• The concept failed after the German defeat in the World War 1 and the dissolution of Austria-Hugary.
• According to Emmanuel de Martonne, in 1927 the Central European countries included: Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania. Italy and Yugoslavia are not considered by the author to be Central European because they are located mostly outside Central Europe.
• In World War II, large parts of Europe that were culturally and historically Western became part of the Eastern bloc.
• According to Mayers Enzyklopädisches Lexikon, Central Europe is a part of Europe composed by the surface of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania, northern marginal regions of Italy and Yugoslavia (northern states- Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia) as well as northeastern France.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND

• Central Europe's borders with its neighbouring regions to the North and South, namely Northen Europe (or Scandinavia) across the Baltic Sea, the Apennine peninsula (or Italy) across the Alps and the Balkan peninsula across the Soča-Krka-Sava-Danube line.
• The Rhine river which runs South-North through Western Germany is an exception.
• Carpathian mountains divide the European Plain in two sections: the Central Europe's Pannonian Plain in the west, and the East European Plain, which lie eastward of the Carpathians. Southwards, the Pannonian Plain is bounded by the rivers Sava and Danube- and their respective floodplains.
• As southeastern division of the Eastern Alps, the Dinaric Alps extend for 650 kilometres along the coast of the Adriatic Sea (northwest-southeast), from the Julian Alps in the northwest down to the Šar-Korab massif, where the mountain direction changes to north-south.
• The southern regions are more mountainous, while moving north the terrain descends from the high Alps, Pyrenees and Carpathians, through hilly uplands, into broad, low northern plains, which are vast in the east.
• An arc of uplands also exists along the north-western seaboard, which begins in the western parts of the islands of Britain and Ireland, and then continues along the mountainous, fjord-cut, spine of Norway.

SWITZERLAND

POPULATION OF CENTRAL EUROPE

Name of country, with flag	Area (km²)	Population (1 July 2002 est.)	Population desinty(per km²)	Capital
Albania	28,748	3,600,523	125.2	Tirana
Andorra	468	68,403	146.2	Andorra la Vella
Armenia	29,800	3,229,900	101	Yerevan
Austria	83,858	8,169,929	97.4	Vienna
Azerbaijan	86,600	9,000,000	97	Baku
Belarus	207,600	10,335,382	49.8	Minsk
Belgium	30,510	10,274,595	336.8	Brussels
Bosnia and Herzegovina	51,129	4,448,500	77.5	Sarajevo
Bulgaria	110,910	7,621,337	68.7	Sofia
Croatia	56,542	4,437,460	77.7	Zagreb
Cyprus	9,251	788,457	85	Nicosia
Czech Republic	78,866	10,256,760	130.1	Prague
Denmark	43,094	5,368,854	124.6	Copenhagen
Estonia	45,226	1,415,681	31.3	Tallinn
Finland	336,593	5,157,537	15.3	Helsinki
France	547,030	59,765,983	109.3	Paris
Georgia	69,700	4,661,473	64	Tbilisi
Germany	357,021	83,251,851	233.2	Berlin
Greece	131,940	10,645,343	80.7	Athens
Hungary	93,030	10,075,034	108.3	Budapest
Iceland	103,000	307,261	2.7	Reykjavík
Ireland	70,280	4,234,925	60.3	Dublin
Italy	301,230	58,751,711	191.6	Rome
Kazakhstan	2,724,900	15,217,711	5.6	Astana
Latvia	64,589	2,366,515	36.6	Riga
Liechtenstein	160	32,842	205.3	Vaduz
Lithuania	65,200	3,601,138	55.2	Vilnius
Luxembourg	2,586	448,569	173.5	Luxembourg
Republic of Macedonia	25,713	2,054,800	81.1	Skopje
Malta	316	397,499	1,257.9	Valletta
Moldova	33,843	4,434,547	131.0	Chişinău
Monaco	1.95	31,987	16,403.6	Monaco
Montenegro	13,812	616,258	44.6	Podgorica
Netherlands	41,526	16,318,199	393.0	Amsterdam
Norway	324,220	4,525,116	14.0	Oslo
Poland	312,685	38,625,478	123.5	Warsaw
Portugal	91,568	10,409,995	110.1	Lisbon
Romania	238,391	21,698,181	91.0	Bucharest
Russia	17,075,400	142,200,000	26.8	Moscow
San Marino	61	27,730	454.6	San Marino
Serbia	88,361	7,495,742	89.4	Belgrade
Slovakia	48,845	5,422,366	111.0	Bratislava
Slovenia	20,273	1,932,917	95.3	Ljubljana
Spain	504,851	45,061,274	89.3	Madrid
Sweden	449,964	9,090,113	19.7	Stockholm
Switzerland	41,290	7,507,000	176.8	Bern
Turkey	783,562	71,517,100	93	Ankara
Ukraine	603,700	48,396,470	80.2	Kiev
United Kingdom	244,820	61,100,835	244.2	London
Vatican City	0.44	900	2,045.5	Vatican City
Total	10,180,000	731,000,000	70

State of Central Europe

According to the majority of sources (see section Current views on Central Europe for some) the region includes:

§   Austria

§   Czech Republic

§   Germany

§   Hungary

§   Liechtenstein

§   Poland

§   Slovakia

§   Slovenia

§   Switzerland

Some sources also add neighbouring countries (for historical, geographical and/or cultural reasons):

§   Croatia (except Istria and Dalmatia, frequently the entire country)

§   Romania (Transylvania and Bukovina, occasionally the entire country)

§   Serbia (Vojvodina, northern Belgrade, Mačva regions)

§  Baltic states (often associated with Northern Europe historically were part of central and eastern as well)

as well as smaller parts of the following states:

§   Ukraine (Western Ukraine)

§   Belarus (Western Belarus)

§   Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast)

§   France (Alsace and portions of Lorraine)

§   Italy (South Tirol, Trieste and Gorizia, Friuli, occasionally all of Northern Italy)

DEMOGRAPHICS OF EUROPE 

1. After the renaissance, Europe had a dominating influence in culture, economics and a social movements in the world.
2.  It included religious emigration, race relations, economic immigration, a declining birth rate and an ageing population. In some countries, such as Poland, access to abortion is currently limited and entirely illegal in Ireland and the Mediterranean nation of Malta.
3. In the past, such restrictions and also restrictions on artificial birth control were commonplace throughout Europe. Furthermore, some European countries (currently Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland) have allowed a limited form of voluntary euthanasia. It remains to be seen how much demographic impact this may have.