World-class facilities needed
Industry stakeholders claim that international wildlife parks offer better experiences and amenities, hence, the government needs to make Indian parks on a par with international standards.
The status of wildlife tourism in India is getting
better. As far as Odisha is concerned, it is perhaps the richest eco-tourism state in the country. Odisha has a lot to offer to wildlife lovers, and its wildlife tourism sector has been well-protected by the government and the forest department, even though limited tourism is permitted. We, at Swosti Group, have made interesting wildlife packages.
India, after Africa, probably has the largest wildlife. The wildlife parks in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, etc., are second to none, but somehow our wildlife and adventure has not been marketed properly. India needs to have a separate wildlife tour operators’ association. They should be experts on wildlife expeditions, conservation, as well as managing and promoting wildlife. Kenya's wildlife marketing is the best.
I have been to South Africa and I have taken the game drive there, which was beautiful. Getting into the park was easy and one could spot the animals easily. There were amenities and washrooms, as well as a viewing point. However, in our national parks and sanctuaries, all these things are not easily available. That’s where we are lacking. We have the resources and these things should be looked into.
The wildlife offerings of Africa are very good, however, in India, that’s not the case because infrastructure is not up to
the mark. In India, only two or three national parks or sanctuaries, such as Bandhavgarh, Kanha and Gir, are famous. Yet, in Bandhavgarh and Kanha, roads are in a bad shape and one cannot compare them to international parks. We cannot focus entirely on inbound.
In India, we need to actively promote wildlife tourism in a big way as Indian travellers are not too keen on it. They prefer to travel to hill stations and beaches and if they have a bigger budget, they travel to international destinations. Nowadays, more than 40 per cent of travellers are going abroad. What we need to do is to create better infrastructure and connectivity to these destinations so that people will be interested in visiting wildlife spots.
India has always been projected as the land of tigers, but one rarely sees a tiger these
days. In many wildlife sanctuaries and reserves, tiger numbers have been over-projected and this shows that we have fumbled in our marketing campaign for wildlife tourism in the country. That is one reason, I think, why people have started shunning things.