Ecotourism as a sustainable livelihood (A case study in Bongaigaon District of Assam)

Abstract

Ecotourism is a nature-based tourism in which tourist can experience a region’s natural resources, its flora, fauna, culture, and the social practices of local communities. It contributes to national development by generating revenue from the visitors and also support the conservation of natural environment.  Bongaigaon District of Assam is located in the biodiversity hot-spot. Hence, the study region is rich in various ecotourism spot. These include reserve forest, proposed sanctuary, sacred grooves, temples and wetlands. Tourism in Bongaigaon District basically falls under six categories. These are rural tourism, Wildlife tourism, religious tourism, cultural tourism, adventure tourism and river tourism. Famous spots are Kakoijana Reserve Forest, Nakkati Pahar, Sanyashi Pahar, where 10 numbers of sacred grooves exist. Although the district is quite rich in ecotourism sites, inadequate road connectivity, limited community awareness, communication gaps, and a lack of government initiatives have prevented it from attracting visitors from across the world. It also reflects on necessity of suitable tourism laws to protect the tourist hot spots as well as on the need of insurance, particularly for adventurous tourism.