The legislation follows a Supreme Court ruling that passed in November and came into force last month.
Guests are no longer allowed to bring phones into core tourism zones and need to leave them at the entry or hand them to guides at Ranthambore, Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Pench, and Satpura National Parks.
The rule applies to tourists, guides, naturalists and drivers of safari vehicles, and failure to comply may result in heavy fines.
According to Ranthambore National Park, mobile phone usage on tiger safaris is a major contributor to unsafe and disruptive behaviour and incidents, such as tourists leaning out of vehicles, approaching the animals too closely, and notifying others when a tiger is approaching, often creating congestion and wildlife stress.
However, camera bodies such as DSLRs are still permitted on safari.
Nupur Khurana from QXP India Travel told travelBulletin that from what they have seen on the ground, the implementation of the ban across different reserves has had “mixed results”.
“However, the feedback from high-end clients has been positive – they see it as an upgrade, a quality filter added to their wildlife experience,” she noted.
Khurana also recommended that agents manage their clients’ expectations, especially those who expect a guaranteed tiger sighting and a phone full of social content.
“For advisors, the pre-departure conversation is everything…The pitch is that the whole experience is actually considerably better without the phones,” advised Khurana.
“A tiger sighting without 20 vehicles and a wall of screens pointed at the same animal is the experience to strive for. Safari guides can do their actual job reading the forest rather than managing tourist anxiety about camera angles.”
Adventure World’s Asia Product Manager, Eric Finley said the move “is a positive step toward better managing tourism and protecting wildlife in India’s national parks”.
“Many of our India itineraries, including our ‘Wildlife of North India’ journey, offer opportunities to experience the country’s remarkable biodiversity. Across all of these, we maintain a strict observational-only approach and adhere to best-practice ethical wildlife tourism standards,” he told travelBulletin.
“We’ll continue to monitor how this policy evolves over the coming months, particularly during the seasonal park closures from June/July through to September. If it remains in its current form, we will ensure our clients are well informed and may recommend carrying a small digital camera for use on safari where appropriate.”
Forward Travel’s David Smyth also welcomed India’s “bold and highly commendable” ban, which he said puts the welfare of its wildlife first, while preserving the authenticity of the safari.
“I suspect the global safari and wildlife industry will be watching this development very closely – India has long been a leader in wildlife conservation, and this decision may well prompt similar conversations elsewhere,” Smyth told travelBulletin.
“While an outright ban may be more challenging to implement in destinations such as Africa, where safari areas are vast and often more remote, stricter guidelines around mobile phone use in sensitive wildlife areas would certainly not be surprising.”
Smyth added: “It serves as an important reminder that truly responsible travel sometimes requires sacrificing that convenience in exchange for a far more authentic, meaningful, and ultimately more sustainable experience.”
