Impact of ecotourism on the socio-economic upliftment of local people in Wayanad

Abstract

Tourism has a direct impact on the national revenue for all touristic countries, it creates work opportunities, industries, and several investments to serve and raise nations performance and culture, also distributes their history, civilization, and traditions. Tourism is considered as a good source of revenue. Tourism has been acknowledged world widely as a tool for economic development. Wayanad occupies a prominent position among the tourism destinations in Kerala, which promises a variety of wildlife safari, ecotourism, lake tourism, adventure tourism etc. The present study tries to assess the level of awareness of local people and tourists towards the concept of ecotourism, and to measure the impact of ecotourism on the social & economic upliftment of local people. Three ecotourism destinations, namely Pookode lake, Kuruva island and Muthanga wild life sanctuary were selected in first stage. Then, 50 local people and 50 tourists each (25 Domestic tourists and 25 Foreign tourists) were selected purposively from the selected ecotourism destinations, thereby constituting a total of 300 respondents (150 local people and150 tourists). The study revealed that all the respondents have high awareness towards the concept of ecotourism. As regards the social upliftment of local people the ecotourism has provided market for their products, protects the arts & craft, provides employment opportunity, improved the living condition, knowledge & communication skill etc. As regards the economic upliftment, the ecotourism has led to the increase in land value, helping them to owning a quality house, owning a vehicle and other assets etc. All these points lead to the conclusion that there is both social and economic upliftment of people due to ecotourism in the district.