Rendering land touristifiable: (eco)tourism and land use change

Critical research concerning ecotourism has revealed the activity’s socio-economic impacts, including low-wage employment-based dependencies for many rural communities. While these dynamics are important, a crucial aspect of industry that falls outside this conventional sort dependency is land use dynamics, specifically change, sales and entrepreneurship. We examine in Corbett Tiger Reserve, India, where promotion (eco)tourism since 1990s influenced significant changes local use. These were initially facilitated by outsiders buying setting up hotels resorts villages adjoining Reserve. Empirical reveals while initial boom waned, owning villagers now tourism enterprises on their own land, thereby diversifying from agriculture to tourism. agrarian shown material symbolic factors influence farmers’ decision-making regarding change. An studies perspective thus facilitates nuanced understanding tourism-related diversification By bringing approaches together here, we contribute both emphasising importance change attention understand how people negotiate navigate relation also geographies more broadly highlighting shapes spaces course development. draw broader processes impacts shift generational changing values protected area. Rendering touristifiable deepens villagers’ dependence market alienates them land. Ecotourism commodifies nature, show commodification extends zones per se.