Title: Ecotourism in Kerala - a case study on empowering the indigenous community

Authors: Manoj Edward; Remya R. Kumar

Addresses: Cochin University of Science and Technology, South Kalamassery, Kalamassery, Kochi, Kerala 682022, India ' Institute of Management in Government, Law College Junction, Vikas Bhavan P.O, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695033, India

Abstract: The tribal communities are one of the highly marginalised groups and not many studies addresses the existing tribal welfare opportunities and practices available in the ecotourism destinations. This study illustrates the conservation governance model that dovetails cogently the imperatives of conservation, livelihoods and economic production has been documented. Parambikulam Tiger Reserve is one of the most popular ecotourism sites in India. This paper highlights innovative practices adopted at the reserve with an intention of replicating these procedures elsewhere. The study identified possible direct and indirect benefits bestowed on the local community and ecology by tourism such as transformation of the reserve into cattle free, plastic free, poacher free, fire free zone and also strategies that led to the generation of sizable revenue directed towards conservation and community welfare. Several implications of ecotourism are introduced and recommendations for future research are presented.

Keywords: ecotourism; conservation; Parambikulam Tiger Reserve; Kerala tourism; empower; indigenous community.

DOI: 10.1504/IJQRS.2017.088128

International Journal of Qualitative Research in Services, 2017 Vol.2 No.4, pp.295 - 307

Received: 03 Apr 2017
Accepted: 14 Apr 2017
Published online: 24 Nov 2017 *

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