Insurance cover for visitors to ecotourism sites in the offing

The Forest Department will take steps to provide insurance cover for visitors to ecotourism sites in the State.

The Forest Department will take steps to provide insurance cover for visitors to ecotourism sites in the State.

A communique in this regard was issued by the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Kumar Pushkar on Wednesday directing the staff to take steps to provide insurance cover to tourists.

This follows a proposal made by conservation activist Giridhar Kulkarni. He said the State’s ecotourism sites offer activities like trekking, kayaking, jet-ski, birding, banana ride, bump ride, dolphin ride, safari, zip ride, boat ride, rafting and so on, besides visits to water falls, elephant camps and ropeways.

‘’These activities are run either by the Karnataka Forest Department, by the Jungle Lodges or Karnataka Eco Tourism Development Board. Many of the activities carry a risk for tourists like animal attack or drowning and it could even lead to accidental deaths or permanent or partial disabilities and hence insurance cover should be extended to visitors at such sites,” said Mr. Kulkarni.

He drew attention to the Thekkady boat disaster in 2019 within the Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala as a case in point of risks or dangers involved in such activities and the imperatives of extending insurance cover.

The proposal said that the insurance cover could be conditional to purchasing tickets at the eco-sites and the expenses to pay the annual premium could be met by the Tiger Conservation Foundation or any other mode.

Mr. Kulkarni said the initiative if implemented would boost the State’s tourist-friendly image and increase confidence among travellers as well and the move would be in line with the Karnataka Tourism Policy to strive to ensure the safety of visitors at ecotourism sites.