ECO-RETREAT
Tread lightly
SEEMA SANGHI
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A website that inspires and helps one to be environmentally responsible while holidaying…
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A fillip to local traditions: The Elephant valley eco-lodge…
Companies all over the world are reinventing themselves as “ecosensitive”. Bar Surya in London has its Sustainable Dance Floor, a moveable surface that converts the kinetic energy from dancers into electricity. Yves Saint Laurent’s
“New Vintage” label restores fabrics from past designs and reworks them into new pieces.
Tourist destinations in India are following suit. From the eco-retreat set in a 500-acre tropical rainforest in Kerala, to Bhakti Kutir near Goa, with its compost toilets, organic, home-grown food and bio-gas power plant. Travellers from around the world, and in India, can tread more lightly on the earth while holidaying.
Such places can be found on one website: traveltocare.com (TTC). Launched recently, TTC is the first website dedicated solely to places in India that are either environmentally sustainable, preserve heritage or are culturally sensitive, or all of the above.
Handy reference
Founded by Karen Stigsen (Copenhagen), directed by Ashish Gupta (Chennai) and supported by the Government of Denmark, TTC covers 130 places for responsible tourists to visit. Beyond just destination, the website can be explored by interest: organic farming, food and wine, yoga, wildlife, bird watching and child-friendly, are amongst the categories. Various types of accommodations are on offer, ranging from home stays to heritage palaces to spa retreats, even tree houses.
“It’s about pushing the envelope on sustainable tourism for those already in the business, and encouraging other businesses to be more responsible,” says Gupta.
Ecotourism has become one of the fastest-growing sectors of the tourism industry, growing annually by 10-15 per cent worldwide. With people directly experiencing the effects of global warming, travellers want to reduce their impact while experiencing something “local” and “authentic”.
“Travellers increasingly want to communicate directly with local operators; they want to stay with local residents and try local cuisine, they want to immerse themselves in local culture, and know their money is going to the local community,” Gupta says, and that is what TTC aims to offer.
Comfortable too
Contrary to popular belief, Simrit Malhi, the website’s content editor, says, “going ‘local’ or being ‘eco’ doesn’t necessarily mean cheap or uncomfortable; some of the places listed on the website are deluxe indeed, such as the Rajasthani heritage hotel.”
TTC’s aims are broad; it wants to provide market linkages between businesses and travellers, and also present forums for businesses to share best practices, to enable progress on the journey to responsible tourism by identifying solutions. “The website is a chance for Indian businesses to transform themselves to appeal to low-footprint-making travellers. We act as a stimulant for the growth of responsible tourism in India,” says Gupta.
Although a buzzword now, the concept of “ecotourism” has existed for a long time in India. Working with local people and using local resources can now be advertised as being socially and environmentally responsible.
There is, however, an exhaustive screening process to be featured as a destination on the website. TTC evaluates the hotel’s degree of commitment and practice of responsible tourism, which includes questions about: waste management; water conservation; energy use; building materials; employment of locals, including women; use of local produce; maintenance of heritage and traditional knowledge, and the list goes on.
Exhaustive screening
TTC writers visit each place and their reviews are posted on the website. “We don’t give ratings,” says Malhi, “we encourage all those making a genuine effort to care for people and the places that travellers like to visit.” The evaluation process is detailed on the website, as well as recommended codes of conduct while travelling, and personal insights, which lists honestly “what is hot” and “what is not” about a place.
With international tourism forecast to nearly triple in volume over the next 20 years, Gupta believes there’s an urgent wake-up call needed to reduce the negative impact tourism has on the environment and cultural heritage, while maximising the benefits for local residents.
For Gupta, TTC is about “spotlighting hotels which stand out from the crowd and make a significant difference to their environment or community…whose pioneering efforts are allowing all of us to discover new and fascinating places.”
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