Quick answer: Madhya Pradesh is positioning wildlife as a core tourism asset: 12 national parks, 9 tiger reserves and a cheetah reintroduction that began on 17 September 2022 with 20 animals and now numbers 60, according to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav. At MP Travel Mart 2026, several hospitality groups proposed wildlife resorts worth hundreds of crores. Kerala's wildlife story is shaped by human-wildlife conflict in districts such as Wayanad and Idukki.
Key facts:
▪ Cheetah reintroduction began 17 September 2022 (20 animals; 60 now, per the CM)
▪ Rani Durgavati Tiger Reserve described as the third cheetah habitat
▪ Rajson Hotels MoU: ₹520 crore potential investment across Bandhavgarh, Satpura and Kanha; 375 direct jobs projected
▪ Proposed wildlife resorts: Ramco/JKR Hospitality, ₹120–140 crore across eight reserves; Sarv Group with Taj Safaris, ₹100 crore at Madhai (Satpura)
Madhya Pradesh wants visitors to think of it as India's wildlife heartland. At MP Travel Mart 2026, Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav called wildlife and spiritual tourism the state's identity and described the state's 12 national parks and 9 tiger reserves as a biodiversity treasure. He linked the rise in forest tourism to the cheetah reintroduction that began on 17 September 2022. Twenty cheetahs were brought in, he said, and the number is now 60, with Rani Durgavati Tiger Reserve becoming the third cheetah habitat.
An MoU with Rajson Hotels covers proposed wildlife projects in Bandhavgarh, Satpura and Kanha with a potential ₹520 crore investment and about 375 direct jobs. Ramco Group's JKR Hospitality outlined sustainable wildlife resorts at ₹120–140 crore across Kanha, Kuno, Pench, Rani Durgavati, Sanjay Dubri, Ratapani, Bandhavgarh and Panna. Sarv Group, with Taj Safaris, discussed a ₹100 crore, 40-acre ultra-luxury resort at Madhai in Satpura.
Meanwhile, Keralites read wildlife headlines differently. In Wayanad and Idukki, elephants, tigers and wild boar are everyday farm and safety issues. For Kerala, wildlife is both a tourism draw and a source of local anger.
The lesson may not be that one state is ahead. Madhya Pradesh is expanding wildlife tourism rapidly, and Kerala has years of experience of what happens when people and wildlife share tight space. Each can learn from the other.