How Wildlife Tourism Can Help Turn India Into a Force for Conservation — India Report
Photo Credit: Nilgiri Tahr in the Western Ghats in Kerala. Pexels / Suhaila Gafoor
Skift Take
India definitely needs to boost its inbound tourism, and wildlife tourism could be the game-changer the country needs to bring in more foreign guests.
India's Travel Operators For Tigers India Wildlife Association (TOFTigers) has urged the government to promote nature tourism as a tool to protect wildlife. The association cited studies that have shown that over the past 25 years, 10% of the Earth’s wilderness has been lost.
The wildlife tourism market in India stood at $11.2 billion in 2023, according to business consulting firm Grand View Research . This is expected to grow at a rate of nearly 10% a year from 2024 to 2030, reaching $21.7 billion at the end of the decade.
In its call for re-wilding and conservation of wildlife and sustainable tourism, Vishal Singh, co-founder and director of TOFTiger, said that nature tourism can help support wildlife conservation, rural communities, and re-wilding efforts. “By opening these areas to well-managed, sustainable tourism practices, we can unlock immense ecological and economic value,” he said.
According to International Union for Conservation o
