The Hindu : Front Page : Ooty's ecology wary of indifferent tourists

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Wednesday, Dec 29, 2010
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Ooty's ecology wary of indifferent tourists

D. Radhakrishnan

Nilgiris District Tourism Development Authority mooted

Photo: M. Sathyamoorthy

Cool climes: The Mukurthi National Park near Udhagamandalam. —

Udhagamandalam: With the year drawing to a close, speculation on what is in store on the tourism front during the coming year has started in this hill

station where tourist traffic plays a significant role in ensuring its economic well being.

While those in the hospitality and travel industries and others dependent on tourism for a livelihood, are keeping their fingers crossed, hoping that conditions including the weather would remain tourist friendly, the authorities are gearing up to promote responsible tourism.

Underscoring the need to sensitise the visitors to the concept of responsible tourism, the Nilgiris district Collector Archana Patnaik told here on Tuesday that the administration batted for a balanced promotion of tourism. To a query, she said that the formation of a “Nilgiris District Tourism Development Authority” can be mooted.

The tourist officer S. Dorairaj lamented that the number of tourists who are either unaware or indifferent to the ecologically fragile nature of the hilly district is on the rise.

Hence though the district abounds with scenic spots like the Mukurthi National Park, all of them cannot be exposed to the tourists due to the fear of their ambience taking a beating.

Referring to a proposal to add value to the sector by encouraging different forms of tourism like eco, rural and heritage, Dorairaj said that efforts would be made to enhance awareness about responsible tourism among the visitors.

The message ‘leave them as you see them' will be driven home.

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