Our brightly‐lit future: Exploring the potential for astrotourism in Khajuraho (India)

Abstract

The relationship that ancient people shared with the night skies has been lost and we are moving further away due to artificial light at night (ALAN).• There is still potential for the conservation of night skies by developing astrotourism and this is highlighted with the help of a UNESCO world heritage site in central India. • The hope is that astrotourism will allow people to experience transcendence from their position as terrestrial beings and to be a part of the larger cosmos.The night skies have traditionally offered a means of navigation, symbolized the gods, and inspired architecture and creative planning. With the advent of urbanization and the consequent increase in artificial light at night (ALAN), humans have severed their connection with the skies. Some suggest that "astrotourism" may serve as a viable means of re-establishing this relationship. While astrotourism is usually used for referring to activities that revolve around stargazing with "aided" or "naked" eyes, we highlight that there is scope to include exploration of historic monument ensembles and night-time storytelling as a part of astrotourism. Focusing on Khajuraho, we further underscore that ALAN should be replaced with intelligent night lighting strategies to maximize the night-time travel experience for those who take inspiration from the dark skies to reconstruct the historical significance of heritage. As we gradually revitalize our relations with the nocturnal environment, it is hoped that the night skies will infuse our social practices, creative imagination, and historical appreciation with a new vigour.

Astrotourism research landscape: a bibliometric analysis

“…lst, 2021;Yoon & Uysal, 2005). In general, the articles in this cluster investigate the experience and loyalty of astrotourists (Khetrapal & Bhatia, 2022;Pásková et al, 2021). The other motor cluster is astrotourism experience, which includes four articles with similar themes to the previously analyzed group (Li, 2021;.…”

“…Among them, the study of stakeholders and their link to the development and prosperity of astrotourism (Tapada et al, 2020(Tapada et al, , 2022 is highlighted, as well as the importance of sustainable astronomical tourism (Jacobs et al, 2020;Labuda et al, 2015Labuda et al, , 2016Soleimani et al, 2019). On the other hand, the motor themes that drive the development of research on astrotourism are mainly materialized in studies with primary data on tourist satisfaction (Araya-Pizarro, 2020), experiences (Khetrapal & Bhatia, 2022;Pásková et al, 2021) and tourist loyalty, through the intention to revisit and recommend tourist destinations (Li, 2021;. In addition, other articles address the economic impact of astronomical tourism (Collison & Poe, 2013;Mitchell & Gallaway, 2019).…”