Times
of India: Nagpur: Sunday, 16 November 2014.
New tourism
norms, a tourist unfriendly booking system, and continuously increasing charges
seem to be finally taking toll of tourist traffic at Kanha tiger reserve in
Madhya Pradesh. While it remains among the most visited sanctuaries, it has
seen the number of both foreign and Indian tourists go down. Information sought
under the RTI Act by city activist Abhay Kolarkar reveals a steep drop in
numbers of foreign and local tourists since 2010.
In 2010-11,
over 1.74 lakh tourists, including 1.40 lakh Indians and 34,073 foreigners, had
visited Kanha. In the following year, the arrivals actually increased to 1.82
lakh. These included 1.54 lakh Indians while number of foreigners declined
steeply to 27,403. Year 2012-13 saw the steepest decline with total arrivals
falling to 1.30 lakh. These included 1.09 lakh Indians and just 21,100
foreigners. In 2013-14, the number recovered a bit to a little over 1.33 lakh.
These included 1.12 lakh Indians and 21,132 foreigners. Even though tourist
numbers had gone down, the revenue from tourism increased from Rs 5 crore in
2010 to Rs 6.21 crore in 2013-14, mainly because of big increase in entry fees.
With 60
tigers, Kanha is considered one of the best managed parks in the country and
has remained on the top compared to other parks for its better tiger sightings.
Kanha also features in 'Incredible India' marketing campaign that helps it grab
attention abroad as well.
Then why is
number of tourists dwindling? Deputy director of Kanha OP Tiwari said after the
restriction imposed on tourism in core areas by the Supreme Court in October
2012, the number of vehicles entering the park had gone down and hence the
number of tourists. Earlier, 240 vehicles were allowed per day from two gates,
Khatiya and Mukki. Now, only 140 vehicles are allowed.
However, Nishikant
Mukherjee, who runs Tiger Centre at Kanha, said there was more to it. "The
park has banned elephant shows that were an added attraction among local and
foreign tourists," said Mukherjee. Tiwari stated elephant shows had
nothing to do with number of visitors in Kanha. Mukherjee said another reason
was flaws in online booking wherein cancellations were transferred to current
bookings at the gate.
"Those
wanting to book at short notice do not get bookings. Such people, not sure
whether they would get entry or not, avoid visiting Kanha altogether,"
Mukherjee said. A tour operator from Kanha, on condition of anonymity, said
only those foreign tourists who planned their journey in advance visited Kanha
nowadays. "Backpackers, whose visits are not planned, are not coming owing
to fear of not getting entry," he said. Sources said a ban on entry of
private vehicles has also paid a part as visitors now have to pay for hiring a
Gypsy as well as for entry.
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