Published Paper Details:

Ecotourism is one of the evolving concepts in tourism in India. The fondness of people toward spending their holidays quietly away from the busy city life and close to nature has greatly increased in recent years. Several studies on tourism have pointed that ecotourism considerably impacts the normal life of local communities living in the adjacent regions of ecotourism spots in more than one aspect. In this study, the impacts of ecotourism on the social, economic, cultural, ecological factors and sustainable development of community and upliftment of the standard of living of community members in the regions around ecotourism projects are explored. The sample of respondents of the study included 300 community members living in the regions adjacent and the ecotourism locations. The study was conducted in three ecotourism locations in the state of Andhra Pradesh like Nallamalai Jungle Camp, Orvakal Rock Garden, and Belum Caves. A descriptive study was adopted and data were collected from the community members to study their perception of ecotourism and how it impacts their everyday life. The results of the empirical findings revealed that ecotourism has significantly impacted the community in terms of different factors like social, cultural, economic, and ecological factors. The study has several implications for the promotion and development of ecotourism and enhancement of quality-of-life community members living in those eco-tourism regions.