Vision of Life; by Sanjay: MTDC, World Tourism Day & Wildlife Tourism!

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
― Marcel Proust.

“Do go to the forests or else, how you will know what wonderful gift the god has given to mankind, which is our responsibility also”- Me.

Author of the first quote is, Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist best known for his novel À la recherche du temps perdu (Remembrance of Things Past). And later words are from Me, & they are my feelings not a quote about wildlife tourism, which is the subject of my sharing. Wildlife has not only given me immense joy but it has also given me an opportunity to do my bit for conservation which in turn has given me lots of satisfaction & more than that, by being associated with wildlife, I have got recognition & honour which as a builder I would have never got! I have no shame for being a builder, rather I am proud of it but unfortunately the image of that profession (real estate) is like a Black-Hole (google for meaning) whatever touches it, that thing also gets painted black, so be it! But wildlife, thanks to the recent flood of self-proclaimed wildlifers & photographers, is an in-thing & Me being tagged with it, gets honours also along, this also I accept with same enthusiasm the way I handle taunts for being a builder! Ok, enough of sociology but in such honour, I got a call from MTDC (Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation) which is our State’s official tourism handling agency about sharing my views with their entire team on the occasion of World Tourism Day, which happens to be on 27^th Sept!

You can google about MTDC, so you will understand the scale of their operations, with 29 resorts spread all over Maharashtra, it also has 27 restaurants, 3 Adventure sports centres & 25 experiences, which means expeditions & trust me that's a big volume. And then with backing of govt it’s a trusted name for not just the masses but upper classes of the society also & such organization calling me for sharing my views about wildlife tourism is indeed an honour though I was tense a bit as the audience was team of MTDC from all above centres & to address them means I needed to be thorough. The problem with engineering profession is they don’t teach you how to give service while tourism is hundred percent service industry yet with whatever travels I have done for my work but more for wildlife I tried to formulate few pointers & then to go on sharing my views about the same, so will cover in that fashion only…

1.What is tourism or why do people travel?

In any service industry it’s a must to understand the purpose of service as well as what your clients want from that service as then only you can deliver whatever he or she expects from you in a righter way. People travel for many reasons but when we are referring to tourism, it’s not mere travel but the goal in simple words is have a break from routine & some good time spend with self or the company along. This is where tourism is different from business travels or some event-oriented travels or say career related travels. And once we know this then the person coming to any resort of MTDC is here to have some relaxed time so our entire setup should act for this one goal, may it be room service or food or any assistance to the guest, we must try to make the guest feel good & nice so he will come back again!

2. Wildlife Tourism

When the purpose of tourism is wildlife, which is core subject of today’s sharing then this is very recent trend in tourism as there has been famous destinations since long for wildlife across our biodiversity rich country but the tourists there were fix & repeat classes & not the masses, because we haven’t yet understood the potential or true fun of wildlife tourism! Many people know Kanha, Ranthambore, Corbett when it's wildlife tourism, though most of them have never gone there or just a single safari (ride in the forest) type visit, as the first question which many people ask about wildlife is, what to do there! And then for sake of curiosity if some tourists visit the forest but unlike Goa or Dubai, they rarely visit the forests again as the second question is, what to see again at Kanha or Corbet (add Tadoba in the list now), we have been there already! These two questions organizations like MTDC need to take as the biggest challenge in front of entire wildlife tourism as if we can answer these questions & promote them in the right way then wildlife tourism is a treasure which will never go dry but we must make masses aware about it. As in the wildlife, not just every day but every morning, afternoon & evening is new & can give us immense joy or pleasure which are the two main reasons for which we travel as tourism, but most of us are ignorant about this aspect of wildlife tourism! For e.g. I have been visiting places like Kanha & Tadoba for the last twenty years & each time I am more excited to visit them & come back rejuvenated as well with some new knowledge also! So, MTDC via its existing resorts as well as using the media can take on this aspect about awareness regarding wildlife tourism, as there lies the future of revenue also!

3. Identifying Wildlife Tourism Destinations

Our Maharashtra State is blessed with such a wide range of biodiversity (wildlife) that very few States in the entire country can match us on this front. Right from the Central Indian forests like Tadoba to hilly forests of Melghat to evergreen forests of Pench, we have Grasslands in Pune & Solapur & dry forests in Marathwada as well western ghats & Sahyadrian forests in western part of State & we have coastal forests as well with 700km coastline at our service! In short, practically we have some type or many types of forest in nearly every district of which MTDC must take advantage & identify such spots & make resorts there. This will make a two-fold impact, one is revenue increase with low investments as in many places land is available at cheaper rate in comparison to established wildlife centres & other is this way the locals will get earnings which in turn will help to reduce migration of people from these places to the cities! At the same time this will be indirectly a protection to the existing endangered wildlife as all these people involved along with MTDC in wildlife tourism will become protectors of the forests which we have witnessed in & around Tadoba! And this will create more options for the tourists at lower costs, which again is a major aspect of the tourism industry.

4. Encashing the Exiting Wildlife Centres

MTDC was first to enter Tadoba, today which is probably on the top of every wildlife tourist’s list with its resort at Moharli & same is with Melghat in Chikhaldara. When there was no option for accommodations in these places it was MTDC which provided that option but then barring extensions of existing resorts nothing has been done later & while other private players which includes big chains along with individual investors took advantage of popularity of wildlife tourism at Tadoba MTDC’s share in tourism got reduced. When MTDC opened its resort at Moharli in Tadoba there were only 3 gates to enter into the forests & today there are 22 gates for entering in Tadoba but MTDC still has only the same one resort. It must take lead & have its satellite resorts on all sides of Tadoba as this will increase in revenue of MTDC at the same time it will provide earning to more locals as well value for money option to the tourists which at present are paying highly for the accommodations to the private players which operates only for profits! This approach also must be implemented at all such wildlife destinations!

5. Wildlife Tourism & Infrastructure & MTDC’s Role

The important (or weakest) factor in wildlife tourism is, as most of these spots are remote & cut off from urban facilities the infrastructure which is an essential aspect for tourism & is either missing or is poor at wildlife destinations. And this is why many tourists refrain from repeating the trips at wildlife spots. And obviously as tourism itself is a service industry but to train the staff is a big headache & then to make them visit & stay at these places is a real challenge where MTDC can make a difference as it has govt’s backing. MTDC can take lead & start training institutes at District level all over the State in collaboration of local or central professional institutes so staff of all types i.e. from cook to waiters to janitors will be available & it will not only help in getting local youngsters earning avenues by skill development it will reduce the overheads burden also of the resorts, thus we can lower the tariffs, means more tourists! At the same time take example of forests such as Tadoba, Pench, Nagzira & Umred Karhandala which are 90km to 100 km distance from Nagpur where most tourists come as a connecting hub for wildlife tourism. But connectivity from Nagpur to all these places is an issue & the only rational way is private taxis which costs a lot, breaking the budget for a family of four people. Here again, MTDC can take lead & by joining hands with State Transport can arrange an AC Bus Shuttle to all these destinations from Nagpur, thrice a day at least. This will definitely help tourists in saving money as well as comfort level also which is an important aspect in tourism. Last but not least, today costliest aspect in wildlife tourism is Safari tickets & charges, here too MTDC being a govt establishment must tie up with forest dept & get own quota for 15 to 20 peoples mid-size vehicle for safari, which will definitely act as a boon for pockets of middle-class families. Unfortunately, wildlife tourism especially at popular destinations like Tadoba & Ranthambore has been only for rich people, is a fact with the charges of every factor related to it skyrocketing & which is actually cutting off the masses from this very important segment of tourism. This is restricting common people to visit wildlife destinations thus not only affecting entire economy around these places but keeping large part of the society unaware about importance of the wildlife itself & is a great threat to the forests because you don’t care about the things which you don’t know exists in the first place, that’s why wildlife tourism is so much important & role of MTDC in it!

This all, only MTDC can do & strike a win-win situation for itself as well for the wildlife though I know it’s a long shot & for many it will be “Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapane” (plz google) but if MTDC won’t do it then who will, is the question I will ask to conclude my sharing!

* You can also watch the sharing at you-tube link below & do share...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aN76v7nV54

Sanjay Deshpande

smd156812@gmail.com

Sanjeevani Dev.

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