The Socio-Cultural Impact and Challenges of Tribal Tourism: A Case Study (In Reference to Jhabua and Alirajpur Regions of Madhya Pradesh State,India)

Tourism is a modern and growing industry that has a high impact on human life. The interface between culture and tourism is immense and they have both negative and positive outcomes for one another. Tribal tourism involves leisure activities in tribal indigenous areas. Tribal Tourism is connected with tribal culture, values and traditions, tourism products owned and operated by tribal people ,it includes tribal habitat, heritage, history and handicrafts, owned by tribals. The Jhabua and Alirajpur region is known for its Bhil tribes and their vibrant culture, both tangible and intangible tribal indigenous cultural heritage, has been the source of tourist attractions for long. One of the main challenges in tribal tourism is to identify and address conflict situations between tourists and local natives. Threats to ethnic identities of a group as cultural impact of over tourism activities leads to tension situation sometimes. This paper identifies such situations and suggests mutual solutions given by Natives. Respondents of this study are local indigenous people (the host community) and tourists both. If tribal tourism managed properly, it can significantly contribute to the preservation and enhancement of cultural diversity and sensitivity. Otherwise, it can also deteriorate cultures of destination communities .This paper aims to identify and address Socio-cultural impact and challenges of tourist activities among Bhil tribes of Madhya Pradesh, India. Researcher selected study destinations which are Bhil tribe dominated areas. For study researcher used techniques like conducting individual Interviews and felicitating Focus Group Discussion (FGD) as a qualitative research method for data collection. Findings of paper highlights major impacts and challenges of tourism and leisure activities in tribal hinterland .In conclusion, tribal tourism has the potential to be a powerful tool for the development of tribal communities, offering significant economic, cultural, and social benefits if its challenges addressed carefully and sensitively.