Pugmarks, tyre-tracks and footprints: the actual and potential roles of ecotourism in protecting wild tigers in India

This chapter considers the actual and potential roles of ecotourism in protecting vulnerable tiger populations in India. It questions the tourist-centred focus of much current tourism research and argues that, in order to pursue sustainable tourism, the context of visitation needs to be broadened to encompass all stakeholder values. Rather than adopting an isolationist approach that views ecotourism as a panacea to tiger decline, the paper suggests that an integrated strategy that views tourism development as a component of sustainable development, rather than as a sustainable option in its own right, is vital if the current trajectory of tiger numbers is to be challenged.