nature-tourism

A land of stupendous dimensions-colorful exotic traditional and modern, that is what Rajasthan is. Rajasthan is fortunate to have Richness of Natural Beauty, Flora and Fauna accompanied with places of Religious, Historical and Archeological importance. The rich Cultural and Historical Heritage of the State attracts people from other States of India and as well as from all over the World. Tourism has over past decade emerged as the key sector in the Economic Development of the State. The Tourist traffic in the State has been growing at the rate of 9.22%. Rajasthan has a very significant role to play in the Indian tourist scene as out of 1.8 million tourists visiting India every year and the State attracts about 30% of the Foreign Tourists.
So far tourism in Rajasthan has beeen attracting domestic and foregin tourists towards its National Park and Wild Life Sanctuaries in large numbers but looking to the enchanting beauty and splendor of the picturesque Forest Wealth present in the hills of Aravallis and Vindhyas there is still lot of scope of opening avenues of tourism related to Nature and Forests. The forests of Rajasthan has tremendous potential in the tourism sector. The development of "Green Tourism or Eco-tourism" will not only enhance the tourist arrivals in the state but also earn sizable foreign exchange together with employment generation largely in an around forest areas benefiting rural and tribal population of the State.
Eco-tourism is generally described as tourism associated with protected areas and Eco tourist is a word which has been coined for nature or wildlife tourists. Eco-tourism aims at providing eco-tourist with nature tourism opportunities and also aims at generating economic return to strengthen Protected Areas (PAs) and augment economic benefits for local people.
Rajasthan is one of the States that can claim two Tiger Projects, the most famous water bird Sanctuary in Asia and twenty five Wild life Sanctuaries besides 3 conservation reserves. These protected areas offer greatest opportunity of eco-tourism both for domestic and foreign tourists.
To ensure optimum utilization of rich biodiversity of natural resources, cultural heritage & nature related historical sites for socio-economic development of the state for welfare of the people of Rajasthan a draft ecotourism policy has been prepared which is under consideration of Government.
- Potential Eco-tourism Sites