Advantages and Disadvantages of Bandipur Safari Price Hike
A change has been made in the fee rates of Bandipur National park, Karnataka which has been made effective from November 1st. The hike made this time is a steep one. It is on October 7th that this decision was taken -after a meeting held for the same by the officials. Based on it the basic fee or the entry fee for Indians is Rs. 250 and the entry fee for foreigners is Rs. 15000. Not only Bandipur but the same rates are applicable also to wildlife sanctuaries like Kali, BRT tiger reserves, Bhadra, Bannerghatta National Park, Nagarhole, Talacauvery, Kudremukh, Pushpagiri, Brahmagiri, Bhimgad, Someshwara and other wildlife sanctuaries in Karnataka.
What we need to understand is that not just the entry fees but also safari rates and stay rates have been increased highly. Rs. 300 has to be given additionally for safari trips per person. That means anyone who wishes to visit Bandipur for a safari trip need to have the entry fee 250 + the Bandipur safari fee 300 with him or her at the minimal level. That is in total Rs. 550 which is costly for a common man. Room rents also have increased much. Now they charge per day for Indians Rs. 2500. For foreigners the room rents have been changed to Rs. 5000. The cost of dormitories vary based on the location or site and is around Rs. 200 a day. For camera also rates have been changed. For amateur photography (photography using Digital SLR ie. length above 500 mm) the cost has been changed to Rs. 500 for a day and for DSLR without lens photography the rates have been revised Rs. to 200. For DSLR with lens the rate has been changed to Rs.300.
Hence it is clear that a steep hike has been made in different rates of Bandipur wildlife sanctuary. People keep visiting wildlife sanctuaries for enjoying the wildlife from a closer space. Safari costs were only Rs. 100 before and the entry fees were only Rs. 200 before which means that a person needed only Rs. 300 with him or her for a safari in Bandipur previously. Whereas now -as discussed in detail above- he or she needs minimal 550 with him for a safari inside Bandipur now including the entry fees (even when additional expenses like camera, stay charges etc are excluded). The food too is costly inside Bandipur National Park (coffee/tea costs Rs.20, Chaats Rs.50 per plate and lunch Rs. 100). Safari is the main income of a wildlife sanctuary. Increasing its rate is really discussion- demanding but increasing other rates too along with it makes it a must discussion demanding topic. We will check in this article whether the sudden change in the safari rates – the other additional rates competing with it – will help Bandipur National park or not.
Advantages targeted by the cost hike in Bandipur National Park
Let us try to understand the positive sides which motivated officials in taking a decision for the cost hike made in Bandipur Safari.
- The cost hike helps in reducing the demand for safaris.
- It reduces the number of tourists entering protected areas
- It increases the income of the National Park which in turn can be helped for conservation purposes.
The cost hike helps in increasing the quality of customers.
The customer quality increases automatically as people who are only really interested in wildlife & feel for them continue visiting Bandipur National Park after the price hike. Previously visiting a National Park used to be an entertainment option accessible to all – thereby making it yet another option among a day out for film, pubs or other options. But now only quality customers who love nature and wildlife invest much and visit Bandipur National Park.
It reduces the number of tourists entering protected areas
Flow control can be done in certain areas that have to be protected via the price hike. How? The increase in price automatically causes a reduction in the number of people opting safari and thus flow of people towards restricted areas become controlled. Hence the price hike of safari has helped indirectly in ensuring lesser number of people in specific areas and promises a better place for wild animals to live in.
It increases the income of the National Park
The cost is much from a customer point of view but the same helps the National Park in gathering better income. Better income for the government can ensure better life for all and therefore the increase in charges can help in developing the state’s financial capabilities.
Disadvantages of the cost hike in Bandipur National Park
What has been understood by watching the activities in Bandipur National Park is something else. Yes, the cost hike decision helped in restricting the overflow of people into the park but certain associated disadvantages were put to light by researchers. The additional cost changes made –along with the entry fee and safari rate changes – created a major contribution towards the negative aspects.
- The close wildlife experience became out of reach for common man
- The steep increase in costs caused sudden fall in visitor strength and thereby profit
The close wildlife experience became out of reach for common man
The steep hike in cost caused steep reduction in visitor number and thereby profit too. The common men dropped out the choice of visiting Bandipur National Park as they cannot afford the same anymore (Minimum Rs. 550 should be there for having a safari ride inside the park).
The steep increase in costs caused sudden fall in visitor strength and thereby profit
People who like wildlife photography (not professionals) stopped coming due to the heavy rates on camera. People travelling from far also stopped the plan of visiting Bandipur as they were forced to invest on stay and food services too in such cases. Thus a sudden increase in the costs of various facilities (mainly Safari along with others) caused a sudden fall in visitor strength or the number of visitors visiting Bandipur National Park. Charge hikes on foreigners in all aspects make their numbers too go down drastically. This in turn resulted in the park going at loss and not having enough money to give staff salaries & for animal care.
The thought of restricting the flow of people into restricted areas of Bandipur via rate change was good but it had to be reasonable. The steep hike caused the National Park to go through the negative sides of a price hike more along with the positive side (i.e. traffic control). Balancing the positive & negative sides has to be done properly when any change is made in a system. This balancing is not found in the price hike decision of the officials and therefore need to be looked upon & revised.
