Two tourism experts are recommending that India’s government develop a popular tiger preserve for ecotourism.
Kanha National Park is located almost in India’s geographic center. Home to Kanha Tiger Reserve, the park has already been equipped with facilities to accommodate growing numbers of tourists.
Two researchers with the Indira Ghandi National Tribal University’s Department of Tourism Management say Kanha National Park has everything in place to make it an ideal center for ecotourism.
“The Kanha National Park has a high potential for the development of ecotourism,” the duo wrote in a study. Their proposal was published in the Journal of Tourism Studies.
Ecotourism is a branch of tourism that encourages visitors to leave as little an impact as possible on a site while learning about the science and ecology that make a natural attraction special. The opportunities to learn about and come to more deeply understand a protected natural area are as much of a draw as opportunities to relax and recreate.
Tourism researchers Prashant Yadav and Anil Tamta said they undertook a comprehensive study of Kanha National Park’s natural beauty, its attributes, the communities surrounding it, and more to determine how best the park can be positioned and marketed. They were also concerned with understanding which management approaches stood the best chance of succeeding at Kanha.
“The research on ecotourism development in and around Kanha National Park is comprehensive in its approach, integrating socio-economic, infrastructural, managerial, and environmental dimensions to outline the pathways for sustainable ecotourism,” Yadav and Tamta wrote.
They concluded that Kanha National Park is ideally suited for ecotourism development for several important reasons.
They argue that the infrastructure already in place at the park can nicely accommodate ecotourism methods and approaches, either as-is or with a few upgrades. They also see an ecotourism-based approach as one best suited for managing Kanha.
They added that several existing attractions at Kanha can be retooled as ideal ecotourism attractions. They also cite positive socio-economic factors, meaning that the surrounding communities voiced support for the idea and demonstrated the capacity to enable a successful ecotourism industry at Kanha.
“The study lays a strong foundation for policy recommendations, advocating for enhanced infrastructure, more inclusive community participation, and strategic marketing to promote Kanha as a model for sustainable ecotourism,” the research team concluded.
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