Bookings not yet roaring in
With the season for wildlife tourism around the corner, tour operators are all geared up. While many claim that the interest amongst travellers for wildlife tours is already high, some feel that it is too early for bookings.
Most national parks will open on October 1. There is now a lot of interest in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in India. We have a lot of inquiries for October and November for Tadoba, Gir, Kaziranga, Corbett, Kanha, and the Sundarbans, because wildlife tourism in India is getting more accessible with better and modern infrastructure. In the past, booking requests would come to us four to six months in advance. However, of late, due to online agents, queries have reduced. Although we have a lot of options, we still need to do more to be able to wildlife tourism. Our government has been taking a lot of initiatives and with the news of an increase in the number of tiger in India, I don't think we will lag behind in wildlife tourism.
Demand for wildlife tourism and luxury wildlife safaris has increased over the years. This can be attributed to better hotel infrastructure and
customer-focused facilities. The luxury segment has enhanced the overall travel experience by providing the most premium products, right from the hotel one stays in to the jeep that one travels in.
Almost 80 per cent of the tigers available on this earth are in India. Inbound tourists who want to see wildlife in India don’t want to see any cultural part of it; they are very focused. Our major source market is Europe and the US. I hope that in the coming season, states promoting wildlife in the country do so with a focused approach.
Wildlife tourism in India is increasing. This also means that we get more visitors during the holiday seasons, that is Diwali and New Year. Having said that, stand-alone safari holidays in India will take some time to grow. We have been getting a good response for destinations like Tadoba, which is close to Mumbai and has good tiger sightings.
Inspite of having a lot of wildlife sanctuaries in India, UNESCO World Heritage sites like the Sundarbans and other national parks, India has not been able to get a proper share of the world's wildlife tourism business due to the sector being ignored by the government for a long time now. The Ministry of Tourism needs to work out a special campaign for Indian wildlife and national parks, and highlight the importance of wildlife, natural reserves, protected sites and areas, and promote them further around the world.
Currently, the bookings for the upcoming wildlife tourism season are very slow and we hope that they will improve in the
near future. We usually get bookings from December to February, around two months in advance, hence it is a little early to predict the situation right now. That said, booking quality accommodation and safaris at the last minute is a challenge due to the responsible tourism concerns that we need to follow. Time will tell how things pan out this year.