Lessons from Velas : Assessment of Eco-tourism asa Model for Conservation in Konkan

The potential of ecotourism in the economic and social development and its potential to conserve andnurture natural resources of the region, have been validated in many programs in the world. While thegovernment of India has lately been using this term profusely in its Incredible India campaigns, internalacceptance by the state tourism boards towards it seems to be weak. This paper studies the Velas model ofecotourism and compares it with that in Murud. Both the places being on the Konkan coast in Maharashtra,offer a similar situation for study. Using observation and interviews, the two villages were studied andcompared. The paper analyses the reasons of success at Velas and offers recommendations for Murud.