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Promoting Ecotourism in India

The key players in the ecotourism business are governments at both levels, the local authorities, the developers and the operators, the visitors, and the local community. Each one of them has to be sensitive to the environment and local traditions and follow a set of guidelines for the successful development of ecotourism. In addition, non-governmental organisations

and scientific and research institutions also have to play a key role in thedevelopment of ecotourism. A management plan for each ecotourism area should be prepared by professional landscape architects and urban planners, in consultation with the local community as well as others directly concerned. Integrated planning should be adopted to avoid inter-sectoral and cross-sectoral conflict. A first step should be to prepare 20-year Master Plans for each state.The architectural program for ecotourism centres should include controlled access points, roads, self-guided nature trails, transportation options, interpretation centres, signs, observation towers and adequate but unpretentious lodging and dining facilities, docks, garbage disposal facilities and other utilities as needed. If required, suitable living quarters and facilities for project personnel should be provided. Box 7 is a list of actions for the development of ecotourism, where the responsibility is with the government.

Motivations for Involvement in Ecotourism

Hotel and travel companies in India function in a relatively free environment. The country is slowly but surely moving towards a market economy where commercial considerations dictate motivation for the private sector to take up various activities. Crass commercial considerations have, however, to be controlled by the government on behalf of the public. The

environment has to be protected through awareness-generation, legislation, policy and administrative action. The traveling public is also becoming conscious of the need to protect the environment, to some extent at least. As a result, many enterprises

in the hospitality sector have adopted environment-friendly practices like conserving energy and water and recycling unutilized hotel outputs. These can be powerful marketing tools for hotel groups. Furthermore, with the increase in cost of vital inputs like energy, water etc., companies are motivated to conserve limited resources by adopting practices which reduce levels of consumption. Many hotel companies advise their clients to be careful in the use of lights, water and other hotel services.

Civil society has also begun to exercise control over the environment. Many non-government organisations have been generating awareness about environmentally destructive practices. Individuals have taken recourse to public interest litigation to stop environmentally destructive practices. The Indian judicial system has been very liberal in restraining environmentally hazardous activities. At times, political parties also stop environmentally harmful practices by agitation and raising issues in democratic forums such as state legislatures. The print and electronic media have been very active in India in investigating environmentally injurious activities by highlighting such issues and creating public opinion for environmentally compatible practices.The Government of India has a Ministry of Environment and Forests with a mandate to oversee use of the environment in order to conserve it. The

Government has also set up institutions like the Central and State Pollution Control Board to deal with the defaulters. The state governments also have Departments of Environment and Pollution Control. The Ministry of Tourism has issued ecotourism guidelines for adoption by all concerned organisations. Some tourism bodies and associations like the Pacific Travel Association have introduced an ecotourism pledge which requires their members to adopt environment-friendly practices.

Government departments working for Ecotourism in India.

The Government of India has set up a group of Ministers under the Minister of Tourism to coordinate activities of various government departments and agencies. A committee under the Cabinet Secretary assists in implementation of decisions and removal of systematic problems. Dialogue with the state governments to liberalise and rationalise taxation and deal with other issues is an ongoing process. Many of the activities in the tourism sector are dependent on initiatives of the state governments. Enlightened state governments like Kerala, Goa and Rajasthan have done a lot to attract more tourists by making facilities more tourist friendly.

LINKS TO THE TOURISM DEPARTMENTS OF VARIOUS STATES OF INDIA.

Andaman and Nicobar Island www.tourism.andaman.nic.in

Andhra Pradesh www.aptourism.in

Assam www.assamtourism.com

Bihar www.bstdc.bih.nic.in

Chattisgarh www.cgtourism.nic.in

Daman and Diu www.indiatourism.com

Delhi www.delhitourism.nic.in

Dadra and Nagar Haveli www.khoj.com

Goa www.goa-tourism.com

Himachal Pradesh www.himachaltourism.nic.in

Haryana www.haryanatourism.com

J & K Tourism www.jktourism.org

Jharkhand www.jharkhand.nic.in

Karnataka www.karnatakatourism.org

Kerala www.keralatourism.org

Lakshadweep www.lakshadweeptourism.nic.in

Madhya Pradesh www.mptourism.com

Manipur www.manipur.nic.in

Maharashtra www.maharashtratourism.gov.in

Meghalaya www.meghalayatourism.com

Nagaland www.nagalandtourism.com

Orissa www.orissatourism.gov.in

Pondicherry www.tourismpondicherry.com

Punjab www.punjabtourism.org

Rajasthan Tourism www.rajasthantourism.gov.in

Sikkim www.sikkim.gov.in

Tamil Nadu www.tamilnadutourism.org

Tripura www.tripura.nic.in

Uttaranchal www.ua.nic.in

Uttar Pradesh Tourism www.up-tourism.com

West Bengal www.westbengaltourism.com

State Tourism Development Corporations

Andhra Pradesh Tourism

Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corp.

1, Ashoka Road New Delhi

Ph.23381293

Website. http://www.aptourism.com

Andaman and Nicobar

F-105,

Kasturba Gandhi Marg New Delhi

Ph.23782904

Website. http://andaman.nic.in

Arunachal Pradesh

Chanakyapuri New Delhi

Ph.23013844

Website. http://www.arunachaltourism.com/

Assam

B-1, Baba Khadak Singh Marg

New Delhi

Ph.23365897

Website. http://assamgovt.nic.in

Bihar Tourism

216, Kanishka Shopping Plaza

Ashok Road New Delhi

Ph.23723371

Website. http://bihar.nic.in

Chandigarh Tourism

(CITCO)

21-B, Telegraph Lane

Harish Chandra Mathur Lane

K.G.Marg New Delhi

Ph.23355099,23353359

Chhattisgarh Tourism Board
Paryatan Bhavan, Indira Gandhi Marg,
Raipur- 492 006 India
Phone : 91-771-2666415
Fax : 91-771-2666425
E-mail: tourism@cg.nic.in

Delhi Tourism

N-36, Connaught Circus New delhi

Ph.3314229

Head Office: 18, DDA Complex

Defence Colony New Delhi

Ph.24697250

Website. http://delhitourism.nic.in

Diu Tourism

UT Administration of Daman and Diu

Marine House, Diu-362520

Phone.2875-252653

Email. info@diuindia.com