The Hindu Business Line : Meet to chalk out road map for eco-tourism centre

THE Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS) is taking the lead to establish an international centre for eco-tourism development in Thiruvananthapuram.

As the first step towards the establishment of the centre, the institute is conducting a two-day workshop on January 12 and 13. Eco-tourism experts from around the world are expected to participate in the workshop, which will develop a detailed road-map for setting up the proposed eco-tourism centre, said Mr G. Chandramohan, Director, KITTS.

The workshop will look at issues such as the administrative structure of the centre, design a training programme on entrepreneurship development in eco-tourism, identify possible resource persons for training programmes, examine funding options for the centre and so on.

The proposed institute is intended to serve as a resource centre for the South Asian region. Besides offering specialised training programmes in eco-tourism, the centre will also carry out research in the field of eco-tourism, he explained.

In addition, the centre will also look at offering eco-tourism consultancy services. The training programmes at the centre will be targeted at Government officials, tourism executives from the public and private sectors, entrepreneurs, academics and representatives of non-governmental organisations, Mr Chandramohan added.

Courses for specialised groups of professionals such as architects and planners are also expected to find a place among the training programmes offered by the centre.

Ms Megan Epler Wood, Principal Consultant, Epler Wood International, who is a founder and past President of the International Ecotourism Society, will lead discussions at the workshop and will work with KITTS on setting up the centre, Mr Chandramohan said. The proposed eco-tourism centre will also look at building links with other similar organisations, he added.