Local communities stimulate wildlife tourism in Assam

Visitors and tourists were just about trickling in when we visited Manas National Park, the Raimona National Park, and Kakaijana Park in western Assam in late October.

- NINGLUN HANGHAL

The safari tour drivers, forest guides, homestays and hotel staff are back and eagerly awaiting tourists to flock in.

"From November we will start being fully occupied," they told us. A safari driver at Manas National Park said that during peak season he gets to drive into the forest at least three rounds each day.

No wonder that local communities eagerly await these winter months when wildlife enthusiasts and tourists throng the national parks and sanctuaries.

Local livelihoods largely depend directly or indirectly on the tourist traffic to these wildlife reserves.

Whether it is local cabs, hotels, roadside eateries, or nature guides, it is local communities who are the big stakeholders in the tourist economy and, in turn, for the conservation of forests.

The peak season extends till February-March. Indeed, in the thick Manas forests, the real season is after January, when the burning of grasses is done.

With the outset of winter and the year's heavy monsoon over, Assam's national parks and wildlife sanctuaries are only beginning to buzz with activity.

"By February, the landscape is stark and ready to show wildlife more clearly," says a guide at the Pugmark Resort, one of the several well-designed resorts catering to Manas National Park.

At the reopening of the Manas National Park for the year's season in September, state tourism minister Jayanta Malla Baruah was reported to have said that Assam is gearing up and ready to increase tourist footfall for the coming 2024-2025 season.

"With its stunning landscapes and diverse wildlife, we expect a significant surge in tourists this season. This will not only enhance ecotourism but also contribute positively to the local economy," Baruah posted on his social media X account.

Overall, in 2023-2024, the tourist footfall in Assam comes to nearly one crore. This was stated by state chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on this year's World Tourism Day.