Ecotourism Society of India (ESOI) have been requested to assist in audit and survey of hotels, lodges, resorts, guesthouses around various National Parks on their facilities and their impact on the ecology and wildlife habitat.
This is part of series of surveys commissioned by the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India through National Council for Hotel Management.
After the last survey on facilities in the hotels and resorts around Corbett National Park in January 2010, through IHM Pusa, ESOI had submitted its recommendations to the MoT to help frame guidelines and policies to regulate tourism around the Park.
Talking to the media, Mr.Mandip Singh Soin, President ESOI said the survey around Corbett Tiger Reserve and throws up some alarming concerns about mushrooming of resorts and other tourism infrastructure, which negatively impacts one of India’s best-known National Parks. The main elements of ecotourism like ‘minimal impact’ and ‘raising awareness of visitors’ are missing.
“This is the first of a series of proposed surveys to be undertaken at vulnerable Parks. Only when we get more data from other parks will we get a true idea of what the situation is”, Mr.Soin added.
The other parks proposed to be covered in the ongoing series of surveys include Kaziranga (Assam), Kanha & Bandhavgarh (M.P.), Madumalai (Tamil Nadu), Pench (MP / Maharashtra). Apart from senior faculty from IHM Pusa, local regions of IHM shall depute also its Principal and volunteer students to help conduct these surveys.