..... Touromark, another eco-tourism based in Thekkady, keeps a part of its profits for conservation activities. “We are keeping apart two percent of our profit for conservation. We many not be able to hand over this as cash. But we do it by organizing environment workshops and seminars on behalf of the park,” says M.S.Thankppan, a former forest official who started the partnership venture couple of years ago.

Apart from marketing various eco-tourism products of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, Touromark also helps in generating income for local communities. The company also provides tourists with the service of naturalists and ornithologists on request.

Pramod Krishnan I.F.S, who is in charge of the eco development of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, vouches by the conservation enthusiasm of these tour operators. “I don’t think there are tour operators who have taken conservation messages to their hearts. For them, tourism is just a byproduct of conservation,” says Pramod Krishnan.