NOVEMBER 2007 E-Magazine - Pravasi Today

COVER STORY
Ahistory mired in antiquity,
vivid cultural traditions and
immense geographical
diversity –all these make India a
wonderful tourist destination. Be it
archaeological tourism, cultural or
heritage tourism, religious or spiritual
tourism, wildlife tourism, coastal and
beach tourism, adventure tourism or
ecotourism, by its very nature India
lends herself as a potential site for all
kinds of tourism. From prehistoric
rock shelters of Bhimbetka, the
ancient seats of learning at Nalanda
and Vikramshila, the innumerable
monuments built during different
ages, its numerous temples and
shrines, the sacred rivers, the snow
capped mountains, the deep forests
with their rich wildlife, the
backwaters of Kerala to the beaches
of Goa, India has something
exhilarating to offer to tourists of
varied interests.
Of the various kinds of tourism,
eco-tourism is the latest in vogue. The
concept of eco-tourism has gained
currency primarily because of the
disastrous effects of environmental
degradation seen by man in the form
of Global Warming and Greenhouse
Effects. A combination of two words -
‘Ecosystem’ and ‘Tourism’, the term
‘eco-tourism’ underlines the need to
create a balance between tourism and
68
Pravasi Today ✦ November 2007
nature. It implies that the practice of
‘travelling for pleasure’ (tourism) be
undertaken in a manner that is
minimally intrusive or destructive to
the environmental surrounding of the
place of visit. The term ecosystem
refers to the complex dynamics
existing between the biological
organisms (plants, animals, and
micro-organisms) and their nonliving
environment. According to The
International Ecotourism Standard
(TIES), ‘ecotourism is responsible
travel to natural areas which conserves
the environment and sustains the
livelihood of local people’.
Ecotourism is a very broad
concept. Seen in its entirety, it
encompasses all kinds of tourism. In
other words, eco-tourism is tourism
with conscience. Whether one travels
to a historical place, a cultural place or
a wildlife sanctuary, one ought to be
careful about the environment and the
culture of that place. It is closely
linked with the idea of Sustainable
Tourism, which according to the
World Tourism Organization (WTO),
refers to tourism development and
management in a manner that creates
a suitable balance between
environmental, economic and sociocultural
aspects of tourism so as to
guarantee its long-term sustainability.
Some of the core principles of
India
as an
Eco-Tourism
Destination
❒ P A K Sinha
ecotourism include directly
experiencing nature in ways that lead
to greater understanding and
appreciation, adopting best practices
for environmental sustainability,
contributing directly to the
conservation of natural areas,
benefiting local communities and
being sensitive to the culture of the
host community.
India truly is an incredible tourist
destination. However, a lot needs to
be done to make it globally
competitive as an industry and use its
potential to the fullest as a source of
foreign exchange earning. The
infrastructure needs to be upgraded to
international standards, the tax
provisions need to be revisited in
consultation with key stakeholders,
the human resources required for the
industry need to be developed and
above all the image of the nation as a
safe tourist destination needs to be
improved. All this requires a lot of
sincere effort on the part of all those
who are in the business of tourism
including the Government. And yes,
all of us who visit a place as tourists
have to be responsible too. While
going around as an eco-tourist, we
must not degrade the environment
and if at all we leave some impact on
the ecology and culture of the place, it
must be positive. ■