The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Responsible Tourism conference from today

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Friday, Mar 21, 2008
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Kerala - Kochi

Responsible Tourism conference from today

Staff Reporter

Key global initiative to help the industry

Focus to be on sustainable tourism
Major developments in the field to be discussed

KOCHI: The four-day-long Second International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations will begin here on Friday.

It will be inaugurated by Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan at Le Meridien International Convention Centre, Maradu. A joint effort of Kerala Tourism, International Centre for Responsible Tourism (India) and India Tourism, 300 delegates from India and over 100 from abroad are expected to attend the event.

Speaking to The Hindu, Kerala Tourism Secretary V. Venu said the deliberations will revolve around two main themes – responsible tourism, from the destination point of view and one from the point of view of individual enterprises. “The first conference, held in 2002 at Cape Town, was aimed at making sustainability a global agenda in all sectors. Out here in Kochi, the focus will be on sustainable tourism.”

The Cape Town Declaration was aimed at adopting good practices in the tourism industry. The role of the government, local self-governing bodies and hoteliers in responsible tourism, have to be delineated. The extent of responsibility in the socio-economic and environmental fields differs for each stakeholder. For example, hoteliers have an economic and environmental responsibility. Tour operators have more of a social responsibility – they have to tell the tourists about cultural do’s and don’t’s of each destination, so that cultural treasures are preserved and highlighted.

Mr. Venu said that though South Africa was the first country to take a destination-based view of responsible tourism, it could not sustain the momentum because of many reasons. Kerala is the first State in India to take responsible tourism as a guiding principle, he said.

The remarkable growth of the tourism industry has made it imperative for countries to look at tourism development in a new light, to maximize the benefits, minimize the impacts of tourism on the social, cultural and natural fabric of the land, and adopt practices and policies that are responsible and sustainable.

A sequel to the Cape Town Conference, the Kerala conference will look at the development of Responsible Tourism during the past five years in diverse contexts. Apart from sharing experiences in destinations, properties and businesses across the world, the conference will also focus attention on initiatives and practices across destinations in India. The efforts of Kerala Tourism in this direction will also be explored.

The conference will be a key global initiative to help the tourism industry and all its stakeholders to discuss and debate important developments in the field. For the participants, the meet will provide an opportunity to learn about what has been achieved worldwide on responsible tourism. The conference will emphasise discussions through experience sharing and case studies, and provide a forum for constructive interaction between practitioners.

Kerala has been acclaimed as ‘a bizarre anomaly among developing nations, a place that offers real hope’ in National Geographic Traveller, for its socio-economic development and the unique place it hewed out in tourism. And behind its inspiring success story are home-grown hotel chains and entrepreneurs — ensuring that a major portion of the tourism revenue is retained in the State, thus enriching the local community. The State is also home to several working models of responsible tourism practices such as the Periyar Tiger Trail, a programme conducted by a team of poachers-turned-protectors.

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