In a first, the Forest department is all set to establish an ecotourism directorate to brand its various programmes and pitch them at global platforms.
A senior forest department official told The Hindu that the department operates 200 ecotourism programmes across 73 destinations in the State. “It is high time to form an eco-tourism directorate to streamline and manage the programmes, while upgrading them to global standards,” said the official.
“The new directorate will conduct carrying capacity studies for each ecotourism destination, and prepare advertisements to attract tourists,” said the official.
“The directorate aims at making the department’s ecotourism initiatives a global attraction, in addition to finding newer such opportunities across the State,” the official said.
“Popular programmes such as Periyar Tiger Trail, which was a first-of-its-kind initiative, and Bamboo rafting in the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) need to be marketed properly. In many destinations such as Eravikulam National Park in Munnar, the revenue from ecotourism programmes directly benefits local people. Without proper publicity, the tourists would be unaware of most of the ecotourism programmes,” said the official.
“Presently, Forest Development Agencies at the divisional level run ecotourism programmes and the apex body is the State Forest Development Agency. The new directorate will be a shot in the arm for the department to scale up marketing and pitch Kerala ecotourism in global platforms. About ₹40 crore accrued from ecotourism programmes in the State last year. This income helped in sustaining Forest-dependent communities, which include paying wages to tribal watchers,” said the official.
Eravikulam National Park (ENP), the natural habitat of Nilgiri tahr in Munnar, is one of the major tourist attractions in Idukki. Job J. Neriamparampil, Assistant Wildlife Warden, ENP, said that last year 5.5 lakh tourists visited ENP and this generated an income of around ₹12 crore”.
