Allocation of Potential Tourism Gradient Sites at Maithon Dam of Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), India: A Geospatial Approach

Through a “geospatial strategy” for promoting Nature-Based Tourism (NBT) in the target region, the current article investigates the potential for tourism development at the site of the Maithon dam. The potential for creating leisure tourism at the dam site is tremendous. Since Damodar Valley Corporation's (DVC) primary focus is on flood control, irrigation, and water management, the site's recreational value is still underappreciated. The geospatial approach is used in the present study to determine the gradient suitability for scenic beauty and adventure depending on the tourist interest. The potential tourist places is generated in a GIS environment assigning weights to the existing environment based on detailed ground investigation. Topographical maps, ASTER data, LISS III satellite image, Google Earth image, and thematic maps are employed in the GIS environment to prepare the final layout.