Wildlife Tourism: Perilous or an Opportunity to Aid Conservation?

In the 2000s, wildlife tourism has come under serious discussion and contention among conservation enthusiasts, mainly because its negative impacts have been highlighted. The matter became increasingly discussed in 2024 following the Supreme Court of India’s order to shut down safari-based wildlife tourism in the core area of Corbett Tiger Reserve. To promote tourism inside the reserve, the state government and the forest department cleared tracts of forest and developed permanent structures inside the reserve. The Supreme Court stated that the forest department was responsible for protecting the forests, and in a bid to promote tourism, it had irreversibly damaged the ecosystem. As safari tourism is growing in many Indian national parks, assessing how wildlife tourism impacts the conservation of nature and wild fauna is important.

Wildlife tourism has a bad rap!

Currently, safari-based wildlife tourism is perceived as an industry with a severely negative ecological footprint on wild animals and forests. Research suggests that wild animals exposed to tourism are under greater physiological stress, reflected in increased glucocorticoid (a stress hormone) levels in regions with higher tourist movement. Tourism is also associated with behavioural modifications in wildlife as they become more used to seeing people. While this is great for tourists who get closer sightings of elusive creatures like the tiger, it has negative connotations for communities living close to forests. Animals habituated to seeing humans will likely venture into villages and settlements, often leading to altercations. For instance, when a tourist feeds a monkey, it loses its fear of people and starts associating humans with food. Instances of monkeys snatching food from people may follow.

Between 2002 and 2008, wildlife tourism in India increased at an annual rate of 15 per cent per year. However, it is still largely considered a luxury experience for niche clients. A luxury experience entails greater stress on the forests as resorts and safaris have a higher negative impact on the ecosystem than a more sustainable-minded, nature-based ecotourism initiative. Resorts around wildlife reserves also generate vast amounts of waste because of the expected opulent experience.

Wildlife tourism as an opportunity?

While the negative impacts listed above cannot be overlooked, there is another side to this debate. Wildlife tourism can sometimes aid conservation. Some of the more direct benefits of wildlife conservation are economic, as it is a source of alternative livelihoods for forest-dependent communities living in and around protected areas. The shift from a primarily forest resource-based subsistence reduces the community’s dependence on forests, and provides social upliftment.

With the safari-based wildlife tourism model, people living in villages close to wildlife reserves get employment options as Gypsy drivers or nature guides. They are the backbone of the safari system, and since they are integral to safaris, these jobs provide income security. In some cases, drivers become entrepreneurs as they become vehicle owners. Other industries grow with wildlife tourism, like restaurants, homestays, and souvenir shops, allowing local communities to reduce direct dependency on forest resources.

Economic benefits to local communities

Wildlife tourism also has inconspicuous benefits. Firstly, the proceeds from all wildlife tourism activities operated by forest departments (safaris and other wilderness experiences like boat safaris, kayaking, cycling, and camping) go to the reserve’s conservation foundation. TCFs or Tiger Conservation Foundations are legal institutions created in tiger reserves to support the management of the reserves and aid conservation efforts. Ultimately, the revenue from wildlife tourism is used by the forest department for a host of expenses, including the payment of salaries to locals employed by the department. Income from tourism is also used to improve infrastructure inside the park (such as building and maintaining protection huts). The funds are also used for habitat improvement/restoration and to advance scientific research in the landscape, ultimately aiding conservation. In reserves like the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, government funding is primarily directed towards the conservation of tigers, but funds from the conservation foundation are also used to understand the ecology of overlooked species like the thick-tailed pangolin.

From enquiry to empathy

Secondly, wildlife tourism creates awareness about wildlife and forests through an immersive and everlasting experience. People who have lived in cities their entire lives may have a very different perception of forests than those who live near them. Moving through a reserve and experiencing the clean and fresh air gives people a fresh perspective on what forests are really like. Nature guides do a brilliant job explaining forests and wildlife to tourists — from tiny butterflies to giant elephants. For conservationists, the collective hope is that when someone from a city sees a tiger in its natural habitat for the first time, they begin to understand why this beautiful and regal creature needs to be conserved. The hope is that exposure to the jungle through safaris changes people’s perception of forests from a distant sympathy to a more involved empathy. This empathy can lead to an awareness of what’s happening to our country’s natural heritage and, even better, the realisation of our shared responsibility for nature conservation.

More eyes in the forest

Additionally, wildlife tourism aids vigilance inside a reserve. Protecting forests and wildlife from illicit activities like timber theft or poaching is a mammoth task handled by the forest department with a meagre workforce. At the beat level, each beat guard is responsible for an area of approximately 7-10 sq km. It is impossible to keep a constant vigil over forests even with regular monitoring. Wildlife tourism means more eyes in the forest. Tourists moving around in vehicles every morning and evening aids the forest department’s patrolling efforts as tourists and guides can flag any illicit activities they may spot and bring them to the attention of park managers. This consistent vigil over the forests also curtails criminal movement in these areas, at least during safari hours. 

Can wildlife tourism be improved?

While wildlife tourism has its benefits, there is an urgent need to make it more sustainable by reducing the adverse ecological effects of tourism. Research suggests that wildlife tourism in India is set to surge at 7.40 per cent per annum through 2034. While many wildlife reserves across the country are gunning to increase tourism through safaris, there is only a limit to what forests can sustain. A consistent increase in visitors to wildlife reserves will surely be detrimental to conservation efforts. There is a need to move from a primarily safari-based tourism model to a more diverse and sustainable form of wildlife tourism.

There is a need to promote wildlife tourism that moves from safaris to a more holistic wilderness experience. One way of doing this is to encourage village experiences at the fringe of forests, where tourists can experience indigenous cultural practices and culinary escapades that take them away from the humdrum of city life. I believe that village tourism and agrotourism are industries allied to wildlife tourism that still have untapped potential to grow and generate livelihoods. There is also a need to shift from clearing large tracts of land to building resorts in forest fringes to building smaller, sustainable homestay-style accommodations.

Tourism is a product of capitalism, and demand drives supply. As consumers or wildlife tourists, we are the drivers of change, and it is only a shift in mentality and expectations that can bring about positive and sustainable changes for wildlife tourism. When we travel to forests, our expectations should be for an offbeat experience of the wilderness, not for replicating our urban environments and luxuries in remote regions of the country.