Mapping the Tourist Places of Gadchiroli: Scope for Sustainable Tourism Development

Eastern Maharashtra Gadchiroli district has dense teaks and bamboo forests, perennial rivers, spectacular waterfalls, megalithic archeological sites and rich Adivasi cultural traditions. However, there is little presence of the region on mainstream tourism circuits in Maharashtra owing in a way to poor infrastructure and remoteness. The paper draws the tourist resource base in the district and examines how it can be used in sustainable tourism. We employed a mixed-methods approach in an attempt to combine findings of (i) GIS-based spatial representation of 47 natural, cultural and historical attractions (ii) field surveys and semi structured interviews of 132 local residents including community leaders and small-scale tourism entrepreneurs (iii) sustainability assessment framework in terms of environmental integrity, socio cultural equity and economic viability. Hot spot analysis identified three high potential clusters, namely, Markanda Wadsa heritage corridor, Bhamra Gad Hirapur ecological belt, and Sironcha fossil trail that are within 25km range of existing road or rail heads. Stakeholder reflections helped to understand that there was a great interest of the community in homestays, guided nature walks, and craft markets and at the same time indicated concerns regarding land rights, cultural commodification and waste management. In sustainability scoring, 64 % of the mapped sites fell into the category of moderate readiness: the basic facilities are present, but a need exists to invest in the infrastructure to be eco sensitive, capacity development, and interpretation. The paper contends that Gadchiroli can become a blueprint to inclusive, forest-based tourism in central India and that it should be achieved through the phased and cluster-based strategy resting on the foundation of community ownership, low impacts facilities, and integrated conservation plans. The results can be used in determining Policy at the district level of tourism management and provide a template that can be reproduced in other areas that are little known.