• Dr.Binu Thomas

Tourism has become one of the most prominent sectors of economic development all over the world during the last two decades and is also the fastest growing service industry in India. Among the various forms of tourism that have evolved over the years in different parts of the world, ecotourism is the one with the best potential for benefit to all its stakeholders. Sikkim, a small eastern Himalayan State with abundant natural resources and a small, but ethnically very diverse, population is one of the popular ecotourism destinations in India. The present study was conducted in four research sites selected on the basis of government recognition of these as important tourist villages of Sikkim. The methodology used was mainly questionnaire survey administered on randomly selected sample in the four villages. The primary data was collected from the respondents using a questionnaire developed to elicit information on economic conditions of those involved in tourism. Group discussions were also conducted to collect the primary data about the socio economic conditions of the people. Apart from these methods, in depth case studies were also conducted as a supplement to find out the condition of the people living in these villages who are involved in the ecotourism activities. Results from the study showed that ecotourism has lately picked up as a major economic activity in those rural areas where the environment is suited to develop and sustain ecotourism. In such villages the major economic activity is still agriculture for a majority of the people but those who have been enterprising have made use of the opportunities to either supplement their income or in many cases outright switched over to ecotourism as a means of livelihood. Ecotourism has extensively contributed economic development in Sikkim. The various factors influencing ecotourism development in Sikkim are state of village agro- economy, modernization of society, concern for conservation of the environment and demographic factors like age, sex and literacy. The study clearly reveals that the economic status of people engaged in ecotourism has improved after they had taken to ecotourism. All economic indicators showed that additional benefits accrued to people from ecotourism if they were only cultivating traditional crops. Even those in regular jobs in government or otherwise did not miss the opportunity to gain additional income through plying a taxi or opening a home stay. It is concluded that ecotourism has the potential to decrease the dependence of the local community on their natural habitat for their day to day sustenance. Ecotourism offers them with an alternative source of livelihood and engages them as active stakeholders in the overall process of development. Ecotourism has the capacity todeliver a lot of economic benefits to traditional cultures. However, whether thosebenefits are realized depends on how well the ecotourism is managed. There is anurgent need for improved analysis of ecotourism issues as part of the ecotourismplanning and development process. Tourism in ecologically sensitive areas needs close monitoring. Ecotourism could be a tool for environmental conservation, local empowerment, poverty alleviation and so on.

Ecotourism, economic aspect, environment, nature conservation,Social aspect

"IMPACT OF ECOTOURISM ON VILLAGE ECONOMY AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF SIKKIM", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 2, page no.66-70, February-2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1902812.pdf

"IMPACT OF ECOTOURISM ON VILLAGE ECONOMY AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF SIKKIM", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 2, page no. pp66-70, February-2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1902812.pdf