Everyone is too aware of the tremendous success that this marketing strategy has worked. Everyone seems to be benefitting from the business thus generated- resort owners, tour operators, travel service providers, safari drivers, naturalists, guides and all the staff associated with all these businesses. This looks like a perfect win-win model where everyone is happy.

Un-noticed in the celebrations however, was the Forest Department - faced with problems of plenty. The prominent National parks started having as many as 100 – 150 safari vehicles queuing up at the entrance. The overcrowded forests started to witness jams, rage and general bad blood in the race for the sighting of the elusive tiger. Unscrupulous minds were always at work to bend and break the rules. Bad apples amongst the safari operators and resort owners tried making a fast buck - with the tourists who were always willing to pay a little extra for the best pictures or the closest sightings – unconcerned about stressing the animal and invading its private space. It was a Mela – free for all.

This is when the forest department, whose main mandate is to secure a better future for the diversity of the forests swooped in to reduce the impact. Expectedly, the reaction was very strong, and recommended to make critical tiger habitats INVOLATE!!! This obviously means a total ban on tourism in the existing areas of tiger rich habitats. This in turn means no resorts, no safaris... no business and no employment!!! Many wonder if this be the end of the road for the highly publicised wildlife tourism???

There are some who would see it as a normal bureaucratic “Say NO and then negotiate” methodology. But this recommendation for sure has shaken a number of people to start rethinking.

The Forest Department has to first of all understand the role that Tourism has played in the existing Conservation model. Tourism cannot be wished away and actually serves the under-mentioned benefits:

• 1.       Tourism generates the much needed revenue for conservation. Forest department happens to be one of the most deprived departments and should know it best. (Many of their lower staff is temporary daily wagers, even after serving the department for over 15 years. The guards – the frontline soldiers in tiger conservation are de-motivated and underpaid employees working in inhospitable conditions.) Unlike Madhya Pradesh, other state forest departments cannot even plough back the tourist revenue into conservation and instead has to surrender it to the state treasury.

• 2.       Tourism ensures entrepreneurship for youth around our Protected Areas – where there is no other employment source. Agriculture is a gamble and jobs don’t exist. Our planners have probably not realised the potential danger of keeping such a strong youth population unemployed. It is not too difficult to notice that naxalism, terrorism, poaching and smuggling are most deeply rooted in areas where employment opportunities for the youth are the poorest.

• 3.       Tourism provides eyes and ears against wrong doings of the smugglers and poachers. It also keeps the department staff on its toes.

While all these justifications are in support of Tourism, there need be a relook and rethink in our tourism model too. We need to disperse our tourists loads to other tiger areas also – but then why just tiger areas??? Also importantly we need travellers – not tourists. Tourists only see what they have come to see. Traveller cherishes every experience.

• 1.       We don’t need only Tiger centric tourism: Without doubt, tiger is the Shahrukh Khan of our jungles. But ignoring other equally talented stars has major perils. Today the result is that all that everyone wants to see in our jungles is a tiger. It’s time we start promoting our rich bio-diversity, which also incidentally includes our spectacular ethnic heritage.

• 2.       Multi activity visits: Presently the wildlife tourism revolves only around a driving in a safari vehicle in search of the glamourous cat. There are so many other activities that these bio-diverse habitats offer. A walking trail can help you experience a jungle – that you miss as you race to seek the tiger; Birding in Indian forests is one of the most cherishable experiences; Learning from the local communities – who find immense happiness even in the most gadget and technology free lifestyle; or just unwind – leaving behind the minute to minute routine of the urban life...

• 3.       We need to disperse tourists to multi destination... Think Wildlife and you think of Kanha/ Bandhavgad/ Ranthambore/ Corbett/ Kaziranga/ Bandipur – Mudumalai and Periyar. This has meant that the sizable population out of the 1.2 billion of us who want to watch wildlife... will end up in one of these places. Added to this number are the foreign tourists that we have managed to entice to watch our tigers. It is high time that we open up new areas that already offer equally good wildlife viewing opportunities... not only tiger!!! Maharashtra for that reason has done absolutely very little for wildlife tourism promotion. Tadoba cannot be an example.

• 4.       Start Devalia models of High Density Tourism Zones. Gujarat forest department has very successfully been able to divert very large crowds of Lion seekers into the Devalia tourism zone. Devalia is basically a very large enclosure where lions and their prey are living in their natural habitat. This ensures guaranteed lion sightings to the large numbers who then don’t “bother” to go into the National Park for safaris. Similar cost subsidised tourism zones outside our other highly visited areas can do well to reduce the pressure. Animals for these enclosures can come from our most pitiable zoos – which have for long communicated the stupid idea that animals are beasts and need to be kept behind bars.

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