Tigers in India, Polar Bears in the Arctic, Gorillas in Rwanda, Wildebeest migration in East Africa, Penguins in Antartica, Lemurs in Madagascar or Rhinos & Elephants in South Africa have one thing in common!! Every year people spend millions of dollars to travel and see these magnificent yet endangered animals in the wild. With a wide variety of activities on offer like safaris, scuba diving, cruise expeditions etc, wildlife tourism is now a very popular travel option among people.
In this post we are going to discuss the positive aspect of it.
Survival Makes the wildlife worth more when it’s alive than when it’s dead. For wildlife tourism to work, the animal & its habitat has to be preserved.
Sustainable This practice of wildlife viewing does not harm nature and is a sustainable way to generate income.
Education Wildlife tourism increases awareness about the species in focus, its habitat and the local communities which live around the wildlife reserves.
Community participation Local communities responsible for conservation of the species and its habitat gets benefit from the tourist visits and help generate goodwill towards the wildlife.
Conservation Economically the “travel dollars” benefit the conservation cause of the endangered wildlife directly and indirectly. Awareness regarding plight of the wildlife worldwide puts a check on over-exploitation of natural resources.
Economy Travel operators, local service providers and Govt agencies get benefits from the tourist footfalls.
When properly managed and regulated wildlife tourism can be the best way to benefit any wildlife in the long run. When planning your wildlife vacation next, you can choose a responsible travel operator, eco-friendly accommodation and a well regulated wildlife destination to contribute your bit to wildlife conservation. This way you will ensure long term survival of your favourite wildlife.
#wildlife #wildlifetourism #safari #photography #conservation #endangered #responsibletourism #sustainability