Sustainable Tourism Development: the Case of Periyar Tiger Reserve

Tourism, evolved through many centuries, is one of the most vibrant, growing and economically useful activities in the world having wide cultural and social ramifications. In its modern form, since the end of the Second World War; tourism has grown into one of the world's largest industries with a growth rate in excess of 5 percent per annum over the past twenty years. It is accepted that tourism is a major force in the economy of the world, an activity of global importance & significance (Cooper, et. al, 1996). This most rapidly expanding industry is contributing over ten per cent to global GDP and generating employment for 200 million people (WTTC). It is reported that Travel & Tourism can be part of the solution to world problems, such as bridging the gap between the 'have's and 'have nots'. As an economic activity it can help contribute to the alleviation of poverty in almost all the areas of the globe. But at the same time attention has also been focused on the impacts of tourism on different spheres, in particular on the physical and human environment of destination, creating new, vitally important issues of consideration on this tourism agenda.