Sustainable livelihood opportunities for tribal communities through inclusive ecotourism

Abstract Eco-tourism is increasingly promoted as a sustainable development strategy that can simultaneously advance environmental conservation and enhance the livelihoods of indigenous communities. However, empirical evidence on the actual livelihood contributions of eco-tourism in tribal regions of central India remains limited. This study examines the livelihood potential and constraints of eco-tourism for the Baiga community, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), residing in the buffer villages of the Bhoramdeo Wildlife Sanctuary in Kabirdham district, Chhattisgarh. Adopting a mixed-methods research design, the study draws on primary data collected from a stratified purposive sample of 180 tribal households using structured surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions. Participation in eco-tourism is largely confined to low-skilled, informal roles, with negligible involvement in higher-value tourism activities such as homestays, guiding, tour operations, or cultural enterprises. Low educational attainment, limited skills, weak institutional support, and external dominance of tourism enterprises emerge as key structural barriers constraining inclusive participation. Drawing on the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework and Community-Based Tourism theory, the study demonstrates that despite rich ecological and cultural assets, eco-tourism has yet to translate into meaningful livelihood diversification for Baiga households. Based on these findings, the paper proposes an Inclusive Eco-tourism Strategy grounded in the 5Ps: People, Physical Infrastructure, Policy, Practice, and Process: to strengthen human capital, enable community ownership, improve benefit-sharing mechanisms, and integrate tribal enterprises into tourism value chains. The study contributes to the eco-tourism and livelihood literature by providing quantitative evidence from a marginalised tribal context and offers actionable policy insights for designing equitable and sustainable eco-tourism models in forest-dependent regions.