Kerala - Kochi   

Roadmap laid for responsible tourism

KOCHI: There is a lot of overlapping between ecotourism and responsible tourism but ecotourism is the front end of the new initiative responsible tourism, says founder president of the Ecotourism Society of India Mandip Singh Soin.

Mr. Soin, who launched the society at the ongoing second international conference on responsible tourism destinations here, told The Hindu that the aim of the society, set up on the lines of the one functioning in Australia, was to try and maintain harmonious tourism operations with environment.

“In Australia, documentation and the mandatory ecotourism certification are done by the Ecotourism Society of Australia and even the government depends on it. We have plans to move on that direction here,” he said.

Mr. Soin, who is also the trustee of the Himalayan Environment Trust, said the society based in New Delhi would try to address the issues facing tourist destinations. “Experiences show that little bit of policy and regulation is needed for the upkeep of the destinations,” he said.

Registered under the societies Act, the society had 13 founding members including Secretary, Tourism, V. Venu, and Jose Dominic of CGHEarth from Kerala. The membership of the society would be open to government officials, individuals, academicians and those in the industry.

Mr. Soin, who is also the chairman of the PATA India Chapter Environment and Ecotourism Committee, said the society planned to launch a weekend course soon covering all existing laws which had an impact on the tourism industry. The course would be designed and run by the World Wildlife Fund’s India chapter.

On pointing out that several States like Kerala had formulated guidelines for ecotourism with the setting up of ecotourism projects and whether it would defeat the purpose, Mr. Soin said the society would take only the good aspects while coming up with comprehensive guidelines for ecotourism covering all States.

Mr. Soin was a judge at the World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC) when Kerala entered the last phase of the Best Destination Award in 2006.

“Kerala is two to three steps ahead in the area of responsible tourism and sustainable development,” he said. Kumbalangi is a good rural tourism project worth emulating. The mushrooming of houseboats and pollution caused by houseboats was a major concern which should be addressed.

Mr. Soin said the society would advocate “carbon oxating”. The society planned to launch an awareness campaign to educate the citizens to ensure that the destinations were protected.

The society had plans to set up local chapters soon to spread the activities across the country.

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