In the tiger reserves of central India, fleets of four‐wheel‐drive vehicles carrying tourists hurtle over the dirt roads, causing substantial disturbance to wildlife. At the same time, however, the government agency that manages the reserves relies on tourist entry fees, which are more immediate and reliable than government budget allocations, to compensate local residents for any livestock killed by tigers. Frequently, these residents live and work immediately outside the reserves, and in some cases inside them. The local people know where the tigers are, and can lead poachers to them, or steer them away. That choice determines the tigers’ fate, and it depends directly on those entry fees. From a single‐species conservation standpoint, the benefits of tourist fees outweigh the costs of disturbance from tourism.