Authors : Dr. Kiran Kumar Pant; Puja

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 8 - August

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/366n6vaj

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26aug1299

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Abstract : Wildlife tourism has emerged as a major driver of regional development in Uttarakhand, with Corbett Tiger Reserve functioning as one of India’s flagship wildlife destinations. While rising visitor numbers create livelihood opportunities for local communities and tourism-service providers, they also generate ecological pressures and governance challenges. This paper uses secondary data for 2015–2025 to examine trends in tourist arrivals to Corbett Tiger Reserve and discusses their implications for stakeholder livelihoods and sustainable wildlife-tourism development. Annual domestic and foreign visitor statistics are compiled from official tourism data, and descriptive statistics, growth rates and trend analysis are applied. Total visitors increased from 199,848 in 2015 to a peak of 361,891 in 2024, implying an approximate compound annual growth rate of 6.7% over 2015–2024, despite substantial volatility associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and other shocks. Domestic tourists account for the overwhelming share of visitors, while foreign arrivals remain modest but nonnegligible. The sharp contractions observed in 2020 and 2025 illustrate the vulnerability of tourism-dependent livelihoods, whereas years of rapid growth raise concerns about pressure on ecological carrying capacity. Building on these findings, the paper outlines a conceptual Sustainable Wildlife Tourism Index that integrates economic, social, environmental and institutional dimensions to guide future empirical work. The study underscoresthe need to move beyond simple visitor counts towards a multidimensional evaluation of how wildlife tourism contributes to inclusive stakeholder benefits and conservation outcomes in India’s protected areas.

Keywords : Corbett Tiger Reserve; Wildlife Tourism; Stakeholder Livelihoods; Sustainable Tourism; Secondary Data; Uttarakhand; India.

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