A Study on Wild Life Tourism of Assam Reference to Gibbon Wild Life Sanctuary

Since the time immemorial man got inspiration from nature in improving his ways of living and maintaining coordination with surroundings. Technical advancement and modernization are forcing man to think and respect nature as a cure to all kinds of ills that afflict man today. Hence the varied flora and fauna of any region are becoming one of the main attractions for the tourists. Indian sub-continent has very important place on the wild life map of the world. All representative animals are found in India. There are about five hundred species of mammals, over two thousand species of birds, many species of fishes, reptiles, amphibians and more than 30, 000 forms of insects found in this subcontinent. The Asiatic lion, one horned great Indian Rhinoceros, the magnificent Royal Bengal Tiger, the massive Indian elephant and large Indian gaur are the big five of Indian forest. Why should we care about disappearing animals Because of its economic value, survival value, scientific value and natures beauty. At present wild life is becoming an increasingly important recreational asset and tourist attraction everywhere. They maintain the health of the living landscape and productivity of the ecosystem. Wild life represents the result of many years of evolution and constitutes an environmental heritage to the past, a world which once surrounded our ancestors. We are accountable to the coming generation to leave an inheritance an unspoiled world with intact living beauty and richness. Study of tourism is become a global concern today and regarded as a development tool in many parts of the world. The role of tourism in the income generation is very significant. Tourism has emerged as an instrument of employment generation, poverty alleviation and sustainable human development. The tourism industry is regarded as one of the fastest growing industries in the world. What is interesting about this industry is that while the number of tourist in the world is growing at a rate of about 5.5 % per annum, the receipts from the tourism are growing at the rate of about 8.1 % per annum. Thus the potential of this industry contributing to the economy is immense. The study area Gibbon Wild life Sanctuary is located in the Jorhat district of Assam extending from 260 40 N to 26045N latitude and 94020, E to 94025E longitude. The river Bhogdoi flowing in a direction from South East and North West distinctly demarcate the sanctuary by a permanent physical barrier. Most part of the boundary line of the sanctuary stands the settlement areas and tea gardens. It is a small sanctuary of 20.98 sq. km which is topographically characterized by an almost level land with an average contour height of 90 metres from sea level. The main objectives of this study are as follows: 1) To study and examine the growth of Gibbon Wild life Sanctuary as a tourist destination, 2) To investigate the sensitive issues of the sanctuary, 3) To study the government role for promoting Gibbon Wild life Sanctuary as a tourist destination of Assam and 4) To find out some positive measures to create a strong bio-diversity in the sanctuary. The study is based on both primary and secondary data. Primary data are collected through a set of questionnaires prepared for the survey and secondary data are collected from different published and non-published articles, books, journals, magazine etc. Field data are then analyzed and made correction where necessary, finally an action plan has been prepared.