India’s wildlife proposition

An increased demand is expected for India’s wildlife experiences once travel re-opens, yet it is hard to say whether it will be any match to the experience of true wilderness that some other countries offer. Are our national parks even ready to offer a wholesome experience to tourists? Seven experts share their views with TRAVTALK.

Hazel Jain

With 104 national parks and 551 wildlife sanctuaries, India is a haven for wildlife lovers. It therefore makes rational sense to package this product well before promoting it within India and internationally. But, we find that more and more Indians are choosing to travel to other countries to experience wildlife, even though they have to spend more.

Explaining this phenomenon is Supriya Khaitan, CEO of Time Travels, who says, “People are used to the top-of-the-line African experiences and we are unable to provide something at par since the parks in India are run within protected zones which are controlled by the government. Implementation of responsible ecotourism, minimisation of environmental impacts, generating funds for conservation, and education of visitors could mark as the starting point to providing wholesome wildlife tourism.” Khaitan has recently co-founded an initiative called ‘Fomonomore’ that is organising a 35-series webinar session with experts from nine countries on ‘Big Cats’.

Education, particularly, forms the basis of a wholesome wildlife experience. And this has no age barrier. Shoba Mohan, Founder, RARE India, is also a proponent of this. She says, “We must work towards some self-regulation and rules for wildlife tourism. It is currently focused on tigers and this has to change to a more inclusive tourism that can highlight the forests. In my opinion, children should be taken off jeeps and taken for walks in the forests, allowed to touch trees, pick up rocks to take a closer look at the creepy-crawlies, see a couple of snakes, etc. Sitting on jeeps and zipping around in search of a tiger is no experience. Should we not educate them about the threats to the tiger and how to protect them and respect their space and habitat? They are definitely not getting the right picture when a bunch of jeeps ‘gherao’ the animal and create a commotion.”

The accompanying guides should ensure this, says National Awardee Tourist Guide, Tapan Kumar Mishra. He adds, “Limited number of tourists should be allowed into a national park in a day. For the sake of revenue, there are currently no limits to it which in turn disturbs the wildlife. Moreover, it is surprising that we don’t have BSVI vehicles for safaris. We need to be more environmentally sensitive. Most of the national parks in India operate jeeps that are more than 15 years old.” Mishra adds that branding and aggressive marketing is also lacking. “If Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand can bank on wildlife tourism for revenue, why not India?” he questions.

But there are some good news coming out of these parks as well. Nirmalya Choudhary, Chapter Chairman, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) – North East Chapter, shares, “The Kaziranga National Park authorities do a fantastic job of protecting and nurturing the park. They should consider adopting interesting means to educate visitors on unique aspects of Kaziranga and the responsible measures to be adopted during their safaris. The authorities should work in association with local, state and national tourism associations to introduce guidelines for this.”

Ensuring these steps are taken and creating a complete wildlife experience has become more important than before. Daniel D’souza, President & Country Head (Leisure), SOTC Travel, sees strong demand for Ranthambore for October and November for their wilderness packages. “Other popular reserves include Kanha, Gir and Jim Corbett National Park. Gen Z and millennials also show strong inclination for adventure and nature-based holidays with families,” he says.

Echoing this sentiment is Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head – Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India), who shares, “The lockdown has brought nature and the outdoors into focus and we are seeing encouraging demand for wildlife tourism. We therefore need the government to look into key aspects urgently: certification and environmental training, strict monitoring of hotels near protected areas, prevention of encroachment and poaching, and creation and promotion of new wildlife circuits.”

But before this can happen, the basic requirement of good infrastructure is lacking.
Ajay Jain, Director, Waltz Tours & Travels, says, “Not all wildlife places are well connected to national parks. There are few good hotels, and not experienced naturalists. For example, Dudhwa has only one property which is up to the mark. Katarniaghat, which is well-known for vultures, does not have even a single property that can cater to foreign tourists. It only has a government guest house which, at times, is not up to expectations.”