© 2019 IJRAR June 2019, Volume 6, Issue 2 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) TIGER TOURISM: FROM SHIELDING TO GLOBETROTTING 1 1 Ms. Ananya Ghosh, 2 Dr. Piyush Sharma, 3 Dr. Pawan Gupta Research Scholar, 2Associate Professor, 3Associate Professor 1 Amity Institute of Travel and Tourism 1 Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India Abstract: People’s urge to see and experience the environment around them has led the tourism industry to become one of the fast-growing industries all around the globe. Sunderbans Tiger Reserve has always been alluring to the tourist to experience the scenic beauty of the mangrove forest and see the Royal Bengal Tiger. Successful execution of Project Tiger for protecting this endangered species from getting extinct has put India on the international platform. The aim of the research paper is to (1) identify the contribution of conservation plan in boosting tourism, (2) conduct the strengths, weakness, opportunity and threat analysis of the study area, and (3) estimate the potential of tiger tourism in the study area. The study concludes that the conservation plans are helping in building the product image, financing the study to area which is upgrading the surroundings for tourism along with other benefits. Trend analysis result predicts a continuous rise of tourist footfall in the reserve, which suggests big potential of the reserve. Index Terms - Sunderbans Tiger Reserve, Tiger, Tiger Tourism, Wildlife Tourism, Project Tiger, Conservation Plan, Protected Area, Tiger Conservation I. INTRODUCTION Tiger Animals are crucial part of the ecosystem, and it seems like there is an ecological balance present between the animals and the mother nature (Environmental Professionals Network, 2014). Among all the animals present in the ecosystem, tigers are the top predators of the food chain as they play an important role in maintaining the health and diversity of the entire ecosystem (Jhala, Qureshi, & Nayak, 2019). Tigers are one of the most popular and easily recognizable rare breeds of big cats alive on the planet. Tigers come from the Panthera Tigris species (World Animal Foundation, 2007). We have known the existence of the tiger species for around two million years ago during the Pleistocene era, and the evidence shows that the origin of the tigers was in an Asian country (Tigers-World, 2014), and they were first spotted in northern China (Kitchener & Nobuyuki, 2010). Most tigers live in forests or grasslands, for which their camouflage is ideally suited, and where it is easy to hunt prey that is faster or more agile (World Animal Foundation, 2007). There are nine subspecies of the tiger, among which four subspecies are extinct now from the face of the planet (TigersWorld, 2014). Tiger Conservation With the rise in concern for the protection and conservation of the species, several projects were carried out in different parts of the world, all trying to work together to save tigers. India is reported to have the highest tiger count in the world, and as it is the national animal of the country, the tiger is an intrinsic part of the culture. Because of a decline in the population of tigers all around the globe, an initiative was taken in India under the leadership of then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi in 1970 with the primary aim of conserving and preserving the tigers of India. The Government of India appointed ‘The Tiger Task Force’ under the chairmanship of Dr. Karan Singh, and this task force submitted its report in 1972, and thus emerged the blueprint for India's tiger conservation program named Project Tiger in 1973 (National Tiger Conservation Authority, 2018). The population of tigers and tiger reserves in India have seen at a rapid growth. It started with nine tiger reserves in 1973 and today there are 50 tiger reserves in India with an estimated tiger population of 2967 according to a IJRAR19K6642 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) www.ijrar.org 516 © 2019 IJRAR June 2019, Volume 6, Issue 2 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) 2018 assessment which indicated the successful execution of Project Tiger initiative (National Tiger Conservation Authority, 2019). Tiger Tourism The concept of narrowing the industry of wildlife-based tourism to particular species-based tourism is rising. Either the tourists are more specific to their needs regarding what they want to see or the tourism industry has identified that area or destination with its unique selling product or/and service, which will attract a mass number of travelers. Several studies are being conducted all over the globe while some are focusing on species-based tourism, some of the popular once are birdwatching tourism, jaguar tourism (Bredin, Lescureux, & Linnell, 2017), lion tourism (Zumbia Tourism, 2019), tiger tourism (Cohen, 2015), etc. A special trend in the increase in the demand of big cat tourism has been observed among wildlife enthusiasts. The largest population of tigers is present in India; this helps the country to attract tourists keen in the species. Many studies just that, the primary motive of the tourist to visit protected areas like tiger reserve is to see tigers, followed by birds and natural beauty of the protected area (Lyngdoh, Mathur, & Sinha, Tigers, tourists and wildlife: visitor demographics and experience in three Indian Tiger Reserves, 2017). The basic concept of tiger tourism is when a wildlife seeker is travelling to destination or area which sustains significant count of tiger population which they are attracted to watch, in this case tiger is the tourism product for that segment of tourists. In most of the tiger reserves in India, the tours are on vehicles driven by approved drivers (Buckley, 2013), Sunderbans Tiger Reserve is different from others as it is based on river-based touring which is a unique selling feature. Tourist visiting Sunderbans Tiger Reserve to see tigers can enjoy their beautiful and scenic boat/ferry ride with cool breeze of the river and watch tigers roam around the shore line or taking a dip in the water. Tourist visiting Sunderbans in Bangladesh are reported to be 98% domestic (Khanom & Buckley, 2015) which indicates that domestic tourist holds the majority market demand of the protected area. Tiger tourism helps to generate revenue for the protected area as well as spreads awareness (Bredin, Lescureux, & Linnell, 2017) but the benefits are not limited to the protected area, they are also extended to the local community in terms of increase in job opportunity (Sharma & Kamboj, The Social and Environmental Impacts of Tourism: A Case Study of Jim Corbett National Park, 2010), having said that there are many researchers which have identified the negative impact of tiger tourism in the protected area in form of blocking animal corridors, providing amenities like Disco which are harming the animals peace in the protected area, etc. (Bindra, 2010) and to the local community in form of increase in noise, air and environmental pollution (Sharma & Kamboj, The Social and Environmental Impacts of Tourism - A Case Study of Jim Corbett National Park, 2010). II. METHODOLOGY Study Area The Sunderbans delta is divided between India and Bangladesh, covering an area of 10,000 sq. km approximately. The delta is a combination of two Indian rivers The Ganga and The Brahmaputra which meets on the Bengal basin and it is located in South 24 Paraganas and North 24 Paraganas of West Bengal (National Tiger Conservation Authority, 2012–2013 to 2016–2017). There are 140 plant species which are under 59 families and 101 genera that have been reported in the entire Biosphere region (National Tiger Conservation Authority, 2012–2013 to 2016–2017) and also is home to some of the rare animal species in the world: Fishing cat, spotted deer, Gangetic dolphin and many more rare species. (The Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India, 2001). Among the other famous wildlife species Sunderbans has to offer, the reserve is most famous for one of the rarest wildlife species in the world, The Royal Bengal Tiger hence known as the Land of Royal Bengal Tiger. Sunderbans tigers’ prey on some unique species like Chital, Crabs, etc. which sets their physic different from other tigers present in India (The Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India, 2001). Purpose of the Study The aim of the research paper is to (1) identify the contribution of conservation plan in boosting tourism in the study area, (2) conduct strengths, weakness, opportunity and threat) analysis of the study area, and (3) estimate the potential of tiger tourism in the study area. IJRAR19K6642 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) www.ijrar.org 517 © 2019 IJRAR June 2019, Volume 6, Issue 2 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) Material An extensive literature review of related content through research paper, journals, govt. published reports, conservation plan, tourism board websites, tiger reserve websites, internet, etc. in order to understand and establish the role of tiger conservation in boosting tourism in the tiger reserve as well as to conduct SWOT analysis of the study area. To predict the potential of the tiger reserve, researchers have used the least-square method for trend analysis to estimate tourist demand or footfall in Sunderbans Tiger Reserve, which will indicate the direction of demand and popularity of the study among its users. III. TOURISM IN SUNDERBANS TIGER RESERVE Protected area defined by the International Union for Conservation of Natures states that it is a geographical space that is clearly defined, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to attain long-term conservation of nature with related ecosystem services and cultural values (Day et al., 2012). Tourism in protected area is a source of serenity and adventure, tourist gets to experience the mother nature in its raw form. Taking a trip in the lap of the nature and surrounded with wild animals has its own appeal which only wildlife tourism offers. Raw resources dominate the preference of the tourist: it permits tourist to experience the resource in its most natural and true form. Other factor which has led to increase in popularity of protected areas can be the need to escape from fast and stressful life one is living in their residential habitat. Wildlife tourism accounts 20%–40% of all global tourism with 3.6 million visitors around the world and an estimate of 230,000–550,000 animals are being held in attractions that have a detrimental effect on their welfare (Tourism Concern, 2017). Tigers are the most marketed wild animal of India and wildlife tourism secures sustainable economic benefits while supporting wildlife conservation and local community (Higginbottom, 2004). Besides the other states of India, West Bengal is one of the emerging destinations which is rich in flora and fauna, culture, historical monuments, beaches and mountains (JANA & Tarafder, 2012). The Sunderbans has been classified as a Tiger Conservation Landscape of global priority, as it is the only mangrove habitat (along with Bangladesh), which supports significant tiger population (National Tiger Conservation Authority, 2012–2013 to 2016–2017). Sunderbans Tiger Reserve is a river-based reserve, so one can either take rail or road transport to reach to the nearest point and continue by taking motorboat service like boats or ferries (Sunderban National Park, 2019). Sunderbans Tiger Reserve was first established as tiger reserve in 1973 with a total area of 2585 km² and is listed as UNESCO World Heritage site and Biosphere reserve in 1987 with a tiger population of 88 as per 2018 assessment and is surrounded with 100 villages (Wildlife Protection Society of India, 2019), but there is no human habitation situated inside the reserve. The best time to visit Sunderbans Tiger Reserve is from September to March as tourist will avoid humidity as well as heavy rainfall and the nearest airport is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport which is 112 km away from Kolkata (Sunderbans National Park, 2019). IJRAR19K6642 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) www.ijrar.org 518 © 2019 IJRAR June 2019, Volume 6, Issue 2 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) Map of Sunderbans Tiger Source: (Wildlife Protection Society of India, 2019) IJRAR19K6642 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) www.ijrar.org 519 © 2019 IJRAR June 2019, Volume 6, Issue 2 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) Table 1: –Tourist Arrival Year Foreign Tourist Arrival Domestic Tourist Arrival 2004 – 2005 1,063 51,032 2005 – 2006 749 63,158 2006 – 2007 1,665 86,908 2007 – 2008 2,081 84,714 2008 – 2009 2,771 1,17,724 2009 – 2010 2,867 86,973 2010 – 2011 3,001 91,581 2011 – 2012 3,418 1,24,146 2012 – 2013 3,461 1,39,532 2013 – 2014 3,638 1,54,119 2014 – 2015 3,785 1,70,471 2015 – 2016 3,466 1,82,426 2016 – 2017 3,487 1,99,955 2017 – 2018 3,203 2,19,809 Source: (Sunderbans Tiger Reserve Organization, 2018) Table 1 clearly states an increase in footfall of tourist and supports the theory of other studies that majority of the tourist are domestic in tiger reserves of India (Lyngdoh, Mathur, & Sinha, Tigers, tourists and wildlife: visitor demographics and experience in three Indian Tiger Reserves, 2017) IV. CONSERVATION PLAN ROLE IN BOOSTING TOURISM Conservation plan are primary made for the issue in focus but it does not mean that it will not benefit the surrounding aspect of the issue in concern. Studies suggest that conservation plan benefits the local community in many aspects and there is a positive perception about conservation among locals (Bredin, Lescureux, & Linnell, 2017). Among other factors its effect, tourism is a significant part of conservation plan. It can either help or damage the conservation plan of the protected area. As Project Tiger is one of the successful conservation plans of India, below are the contribution of Project Tiger (direct or indirect) in boosting tourism which the study has analyzed through literature review along with that mentioned other benefits of the initiative as well. 1. Project Tiger is one of the successful wildlife conservation projects in the world. It led to the publicity which highlighted and uplifted the wildlife tourism segment of India as one of preferred cause of motivation for tourist all around the globe currently. According to Reader's Digest Canada, in India Jim Corbett National Park is among the Top 10 Awesome Wildlife Destination. Project Tiger has saved the species from going extinct and as more than half of tiger population resides in India, hence making it a crucial and priced product for tourism. 2. The increase of fondness among travelers for visiting tiger reserves can be due to improved conditions and better facilities available for the tourist. The number of tourists visiting wildlife reserves have also increased significantly over the years. IJRAR19K6642 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) www.ijrar.org 520 © 2019 IJRAR June 2019, Volume 6, Issue 2 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) 3. Project Tiger has laid down ethical practices to be followed within tiger reserves which has helped the tourism industry to follow responsible practices. It has divided the reserve into two parts: Buffer Zone and Core Zone. Tourism activities majorly take place in Buffer Zone and only 20% of the Core Zone is allowed to be used for tourism (not in every tiger reserve). 4. Project Tiger makes investment in the tiger reserve every year which helps in the development of the tiger reserve and area around it. The investment has helped in improving the conditions of the tiger reserves. Table 2: - Fund Allocation of Sunderbans Tiger Reserve (All Figures in Lakh) 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 227.716 211.34 391.1725 267.77541 329.2577 397.0908 Source: (National Tiger Conservation Authority, 2019) 5. The initiatives have increased employment opportunities and encouraged locals to participate in the jobs relating to the tiger reserves as they known the surroundings. 6. Besides tourism, Project Tiger is also benefiting others. According to the conservation plan, deforestation in the tiger reserve is prohibited. It is discouraging in order to safeguard the landscape for tigers as it is their source of survival. As much as the natural landscape is important, water is also crucial for survival and entertainment for tigers as they are good swimmers. Project Tiger ensures that the water source present in and around the tiger reserve should be clear all the time and the flow of water is present throughout the year. 7. In the process of conserving tigers in the reserve, other species of wildlife are also benefited. Where the tiger thrives, so do other diverse plants and species. Apart from the benefits gained by the environment and other wildlife species, the local community around the tiger reserves do not go neglected. Investments are made for improving and uplifting the conditions of the local area of the tiger reserves as well as to ensure the safety and security of the local population. 8. Project Tiger has created a Village Relocation Funding program for the relocation of villages. The aim is to first identify the villages which are in the core zone/ critical tiger habitat area and then to fund for the relocation of the village to a new location. This majorly helps in reducing man-tiger conflict in the tiger reserves. Table 3: - Village Fund Allocation (All Figures in Lakh) Year 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Total Fund Allocation 17502.00 15484.93 34224.75 34500.00 16287.25 Source: (National Tiger Conservation Authority, 2019) The above analysis suggests that Project Tiger has made many significant contributions in the tourism industry whether directly or indirectly, now the question is has tourism helped Project Tiger in conservation of the tiger reserve? V. SWOT ANALYSIS OF SUNDERBANS TIGER RESERVE Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis is one of the most common methods used in tourism to estimate the power and limitation of the destination/area. The analysis will bring out the hidden facts related to the area which the stakeholders can evaluate and play it to their advantages and work towards reducing the disadvantages. The study does SWOT analysis of the study area through literature review and personal observations which will highlight the pro and cons of the reserve. IJRAR19K6642 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) www.ijrar.org 521 © 2019 IJRAR June 2019, Volume 6, Issue 2 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) Strength: ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ Absence of any village/ settlements inside the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve. One of the largest standalone tiger population in the country. Extremely rich in biodiversity especially populations of many endangered animals. A World Heritage Site and a globally recognized Biosphere Reserve. Only mangrove forest in the world supporting tiger population (along Bangladesh). Provides unique way to tour tiger reserve, through river cruising. Not expensive destination for experiencing tiger tourism. Weakness: ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ Porous international border with Bangladesh. Absence of drinking water at most of the places. Man eating propensity of the tigers within the forest area. Unrestricted number of tourists in absence of carrying capacity computation. Unplanned growth of tourist lodges near the tiger reserve Absence of water management guidelines Inadequate number of trained tourist guides. Travelling for a long period of time while changing modes of transport. Low tiger spotting. No land-based tourism is allowed. Prone to heavy rainfall. Core zone is not available for tourism. Opportunities: ❖ Scope for raising conservation awareness among the fringe populations and tourist visiting the area. ❖ Preserving the world’s largest contiguous mangrove forest in the world and the largest mangrove area in the country. ❖ Excellent scope for carrying out research and monitoring studies especially those related to climate change, radio telemetry studies on tiger to study its ranging pattern territory and breeding biology. ❖ Liaoning with different government and non-governmental agencies for coordinated efforts in protection and development of the area. ❖ Attracting more numbers of foreign tourists. ❖ Alluring domestic tourists from different parts of India. ❖ Promoting river cruising in the tiger reserve. Threats: ❖ Proximity to Kolkata which is a major center of smuggling of wildlife articles to Nepal, China and other Asian countries. ❖ Siltation of river channels. ❖ Upstream river pollution. ❖ Global warming and rise in sea levels is a looming threat. ❖ The area is prone to cyclonic surges and storms. ❖ Increased cattle smuggling to Bangladesh using the forest area. ❖ Mushrooming of large number of tourist lodges and increase in number of tourists. ❖ Carrying maximum tiger count as per the area capacity. IJRAR19K6642 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) www.ijrar.org 522 © 2019 IJRAR June 2019, Volume 6, Issue 2 VI. www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) TIGER TOURISM POTENTIAL IN SUNDERBANS TIGER RESERVE Tiger reserves all over India has witness an increase in tourist footfall, the most preferred tiger reserves are Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve and Kanha Tiger Reserve (Rosy, 2017), the reason behind it can be the tiger reserve are located in the central region of India, hence one does not has to travel long distance plus these tiger reserves has a huge count of tigers in India which increases the chances to witness tiger/s while their visit. Unlike Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve or Kanha Tiger Reserve, Sunderbans Tiger Reserve are located in the eastern part of India, hence a domestic tourist belonging to northern part of India will be less willing to visit the tiger reserve plus there are less than 100 tiger population and best chance to see them is in winters when tigers are sunbathing on the shores as no human entry is allowed on the islands. These disadvantages can be damages for the tiger reserve as it can lead to bare use of the area which will hamper the conservation awareness, revenue generation and benefit to the host community. The least square method is used estimate the trend of tourist footfall in Sunderbans Tiger Reserve for coming five years as it is the technique to determine the best fit line to the data (Miller, 2006) which will help understand the future potential of the protected area by predicting the demand among tourist to visit the reserve. Formula: Y=a+b×x 𝑎= 𝑏= ∑𝑦 𝑛 ∑ 𝑥𝑦 𝑥2 Mid − point of X = ∑𝑋 𝑛 Domestic tourist arrival analysis in Sunderbans Tiger Reserve: - 𝑎 = 2761.071429 𝑏 = 203.5362637 𝑀𝑖𝑑 − 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑋 = 2011 IJRAR19K6642 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) www.ijrar.org 523 © 2019 IJRAR June 2019, Volume 6, Issue 2 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) Table 4: - Domestic Tourist Trend Year 2004–2005 2005–2006 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009 2009–2010 2010–2011 2011–2012 2012–2013 2013–2014 2014–2015 2015–2016 2016–2017 2017–2018 2018–2019 2019–2020 2020–2021 2021–2022 2022–2023 2023–2024 TOTAL Total Tourist X 2004.5 2005.5 2006.5 2007.5 2008.5 2009.5 2010.5 2011.5 2012.5 2013.5 2014.5 2015.5 2016.5 2017.5 2018.5 2019.5 2020.5 2021.5 2022.5 2023.5 14 Y 51032 63158 86908 84714 117724 86973 91581 124146 139532 154119 170417 182426 199955 219809 _ _ _ _ _ _ 1772494 Derivation 𝑥 = 𝑋 − 2011 -6.5 -5.5 -4.5 -3.5 -2.5 -1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 5.5 6.5 7.5 8.5 9.5 10.5 11.5 12.5 0 𝑥 2 𝑥𝑦 42.25 30.25 20.25 12.25 6.25 2.25 0.25 0.25 2.25 6.25 12.25 20.25 30.25 42.25 -331708 -347369 -391086 -296499 -294310 -130459.5 -45790.5 62073 209298 385297.5 596459.5 820917 1099752.5 1428758.5 227.5 2765334 Trend Value 𝑌 =𝑎+𝑏×𝑥 47597.17143 59752.48571 71907.8 84063.11429 96218.42857 108373.7429 120529.0571 132684.3714 144839.6857 156995 169150.3143 181305.6286 193460.9429 205616.2571 217771.5714 229926.8857 242082.2 254237.5143 266392.8286 278548.1429 Foreign tourist arrival analysis in Sunderbans Tiger Reserve: 𝑎 = 2761.071429 𝑏 = 203.5362637 𝑀𝑖𝑑 − 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑋 = 2011 IJRAR19K6642 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) www.ijrar.org 524 © 2019 IJRAR June 2019, Volume 6, Issue 2 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) Table 5: - Foreign Tourist Trend Year 2004–2005 2005–2006 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009 2009–2010 2010–2011 2011–2012 2012–2013 2013–2014 2014–2015 2015–2016 2016–2017 2017–2018 2018–2019 2019–2020 2020–2021 2021–2022 2022–2023 2023–2024 Total Total Tourist X 2004.5 2005.5 2006.5 2007.5 2008.5 2009.5 2010.5 2011.5 2012.5 2013.5 2014.5 2015.5 2016.5 2017.5 2018.5 2019.5 2020.5 2021.5 2022.5 2023.5 14 Y 1063 749 1665 2081 2771 2867 3001 3418 3461 3638 3785 3466 3487 3203 38655 Derivation 𝑥 = 𝑋 − 2011 -6.5 -5.5 -4.5 -3.5 -2.5 -1.5 -0.5 0.5 1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 5.5 6.5 7.5 8.5 9.5 10.5 11.5 12.5 0 𝑥 2 42.25 30.25 20.25 12.25 6.25 2.25 0.25 0.25 2.25 6.25 12.25 20.25 30.25 42.25 xy -6909.5 -4119.5 -7492.5 -7283.5 -6927.5 -4300.5 -1500.5 1709 5191.5 9095 13247.5 15597 19178.5 20819.5 227.5 46304.5 Trend Value 𝑌 =𝑎+𝑏×𝑥 1438.08571 1641.62198 1845.15824 2048.69451 2252.23077 2455.76703 2659.3033 2862.83956 3066.37582 3269.91209 3473.44835 3676.98462 3880.52088 4084.05714 4287.59341 4491.12967 4694.66593 4898.2022 5101.73846 5305.27473 Result The results imply continuous rise in the tourist footfall from 2018 – 2019 till 2023 – 2024, shown in Table 4 and Table 5. Even though the significant rise is identified, the level of growth is different. In case of domestic tourist, the rise from 2018 – 2019 till 2023 – 2024 is 35.469% whereas in case of foreign tourist, the rise from 2018 – 2019 till 2023 – 2024 is 29.902 %. The previous figures and results imply that the domestic tourist are the prime visitors in the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve, which is also recognized in other researches (Lyngdoh, Mathur, & Sinha, Tigers, tourists and wildlife: visitor demographics and experience in three Indian Tiger Reserves, 2017). As for foreign tourist, the figures are minuscule but they are rising every year which demonstrations increase in interest to visit the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve. VII. CONCLUSION The results of the study indicate that there is a rising demand among tourist preferring to visit the protected area. Project Tiger vision and ongoing initiatives led India to have the maximum tiger source sites in the world today. The initiatives have increased the scope of future of tiger tourism activities in India by conserving and improving the conditions in and around the tiger reserves. Tiger tourism can contribute by future uplifting the reserves and improve the socio-economic conditions of the local communities living near and around the tiger reserve. Tourism in tiger reserves can be a bridge to serve the tourist and conserve the protected area at the same time. Tourist can experience in a responsible manner and the money raised from the tourism can be invested in helping the local population, conserving, maintaining and supporting other issues of the tiger reserve for instance providing concession allowance to the victims of tiger attack (Bredin, Lescureux, & Linnell, 2017). The study helps to understand the volume of business tiger tourism will bring which the stakeholders can start working on to obtain best use. Precautions like calculating effective carrying capacity, should be executed in IJRAR19K6642 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) www.ijrar.org 525 © 2019 IJRAR June 2019, Volume 6, Issue 2 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) order to minimize the negative consequence as Sunderbans is the only mangrove forest in the world which sustains tiger population. References Barlow, A. C., Gani, M. O., Udd, M. I., Rahman, S. M., Hossain, A., Hossa, A. N. Smith, J. L. (2006). Sundarbans Tiger Project Activities and Results 2005-2006: Final report to the USFWS and the Save the Tiger Fund. Building. Best Current Affairs. (2016, November 30). Steps Taken by Project Tiger India. Retrieved from Best Current Affairs: https://www.bestcurrentaffairs.com/steps-taken-protect-tigers-india/ Bindra, P. S. (2010). Report on impact of tourism on tigers and other wildlife in Corbett Tiger Reserve: A study for the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. 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