The Hindu Business Line : Consultant hired for Kerala’s responsible tourism initiative

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug. 29 Kerala Tourism’s responsible tourism initiative is set to gather steam with the appointment of a consultant to assist in implementing pilot projects in four destinations in the State.

The consultant, Great India Tourism Planners and Consultants International (GITPAC), part of the Kerala-based ATE Group, will provide support at the State and destination levels to Kerala’s responsible tourism initiative, explained Mr U.V. Jose, COO, GITPAC.

The organisation will manage various aspects of the responsible tourism initiative and will liaise with stakeholders such as the Government, local communities and the tourism industry, he added.

Responsible tourism seeks to ‘create better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit’, by focusing on the economic, social and environmental impacts of tourism on destinations.

Last year, Kerala Tourism decided to implement responsible tourism projects in four destinations — Kumarakom, Kovalam, Thekkady and Wayanad.

There is a lot of field work to be done in all four destinations over the next few months, said Dr Venu V., Secertary-Tourism, Government of Kerala. The consultant will help ramp up the implementation of the responsible tourism initiative and will also ensure that the initiative goes beyond the economic responsibility aspect, he added.

Kumarakom and Kovalam were the first destinations to start work several months ago, with the focus on economic responsibility. Working through Kerala’s State Poverty Eradication Mission or Kudumbashree and its network of women’s self-help groups, the emphasis was on developing micro enterprises that used local resources to supply hotels in each destination with produce such as fruits, vegetables, milk and meat.

Continuing with the focus on economic responsibility, the responsible tourism cells in each destination will try to involve more hotels in each destination in the ‘sourcing locally’ scheme. The target is to ensure that in one year at least 50 per cent of the hotels in each destination source products such as vegetables, fruits and milk from the local community, he pointed out.

The responsible tourism cells will also work to expand the supplier base in each destination. The attempt is to go beyond the Kudumbashree groups and encourage local farmers to start supplying agricultural produce to hotels, he explained. Similarly, efforts will also be taken to expand the range of products that hotels buy from the local community, he added.

According to Mr Jose the environmental responsibility aspect will initially be built around improving energy and water efficiency in hotels and introducing scientific waste management.

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