An evaluation of the potential and limitations of ecotourism as a vehicle for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in the protected areas of India

Although ecotourism has been conceived as a responsible form of travel that benefits both conservation and local communities, in practice it has often been abused. This dissertation offers a critical evaluation of tourism in protected areas in India, using a representative sample for analysis. Data was collected on their tourism trends and evaluated against the four principles of ecotourism: environmental impact, benefits to local communities, contribution to conservation, and visitor education. The study revealed certain trends about tourism in the protected areas of India: other than restricting certain areas and activities there was little concern about ecological impacts with increasing tourism taking a heavy toll on the environment; local people got only menial jobs while tour operators made significant profits; meager amounts were generated for conservation compared to visitor numbers; and visitor education efforts were negligible with most tourists solely interested in "wildlife sighting." This study concludes that ecotourism in sensitive areas cannot be conducted as a purely business venture and offers the following policy recommendations: protected area managers should partner with local communities and NGOs to integrate ecotourism with sustainable livelihoods; experts should be consulted on the design of low-impact infrastructure; costs should be modest to balance conservation and community development against access to ordinary citizens; and visitor education should be an integral component to improve visitor experience.