Kerala Tourism not responsible enough

THIRUVANANTHPAURAM: The Tourism Department claims that the state’s Responsible Tourism initiative is the toast of the world but the reality is the state is yet to impress the world as a responsible tourism destination. For the tenth year in a row, the state has been overlooked for the prestigious ‘Tourism for Tomorrow’ (ToT) awards, instituted by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). In 2006, Kovalam had been shortlisted for the “Destination Stewardship’ award but lost out to the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, Mexico. Ever since, it had not featured in any of the ToT award categories. Sierra Gorda, after the 2006 win, has grown as a destination and has now been voted one of the most popular sustainable tourism destinations by Conde Nast Travellor and the New York Times travel guide.

ToT Awards are given in four categories: destination stewardship, community benefit, conservation and tourism innovation. Besides destination stewardship, community benefit is the only other category where Kumarakom was expected to be nominated. Kumarakom, or for that matter none of the responsible tourism destinations in the state, has never ever been nominated for the Community Benefit award. “The awards carry immense weight with global travellors. Winning or at least getting nominated could boost the tourism potential of destination,” a top Tourism Department source said. “The responsible tourism initiative in Kovalam though five years old on paper, is only beginning to prosper,” he said.

This year’s ‘destination stewardship’ award was won by Botswana Tourism Organisation. The areas under BTO comprise Ramsar sites Chobe, Makgadikgadi and Okavango Delta. By focusing on high end, low impact ecotourism, BTO has created around 60,000 jobs have been created and has contributed US$650 million to Botswana’s GDP. Cinnamon, a hotel chain in Sri Lanka, the state’s big competitor, has won the ‘community benefit’ award for devising a unique strategy to prevent man-animal conflict in Yala, one of the best wildlife parks to spot leopards in the world. However the border of the park is home to hundreds of dairy farmers, who sometimes kill the leopards to protect their cattle. Cinnamon manufactured and donated more than 70 steel cages, which enabled the farmers to protect their cattle at night. The conflict was avoided, and farmer incomes increased by over 20 percent.