Is Sustainable Tourism a
New Idea?
The
World Tourism and Travel Council estimates that the tourism sector will
grow at a rate of 7% annually over the next decade1, an
estimate that may well be somewhat conservative. The sector can also
generate significant demand for transportation, resource-heavy
infrastructure and energy-intensive activities leading to undesirable
ecological damage and climate-related impacts and disparity and inequity
in the local population – making the rich richer and the poor poorer in
most cases.
However,
well planned and properly designed tourism, with adoption of carefully
framed policies and practices can greatly minimise the environmental and
social cost of tourist-related impacts. The concept now garners global
acceptance and is commonly known as Sustainable Tourism. The United
Nations World Tourism Organisation defines Sustainable Tourism2
as:
"Tourism
that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and
environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry,
the environment and host communities".
The concept
can be visualised coherently, as in the given figure. It is an overlap
stemming from environmental conservation, community ownership and decent
livelihoods. According to The International Ecotourism Society (TIES),
the ultimate goal of ecotourism, which is a major component of
sustainable tourism, is to ensure economic and social well-being of
local people, in addition to maintaining natural resources in their
current state.
Sustainable
tourism is garnering global acceptance and popularity with many
small-scale, social initiatives being funded and promoted by
philanthropists and impact investors. The global giant, World Bank is
leading sustainable tourism initiatives such as the Global Wildlife
Programme (GWP) that works towards achieving wildlife conservation by
investing in tourism that benefits local wildlife and communities in 19
countries across Asia and Africa3.
Developed
nations have even recognised ecotourism labels (‘Nature’s Best’ in the
case of Sweden) to defend ethical values and create valuable travel
experiences. Nature’s Best, primarily the Swedish Ecotourism
Association’s brainchild, has an elaborate set of guidelines and
principles to be followed by the applying agency. The label mandates
essentials such as:
• Inclusion
of the local population so as to provide economic benefits to them
through renting accommodation, buying products and services etc.
• Making
the operators’ activities environmentally sound, such as guidelines for
shared transport, sustainable lodging, waste management practices etc.
•
Respecting limitations of the destination
• Actively
contributing to natural and cultural conservation
• Promoting
sharing of local knowledge and the joy of discovery in the area
• Quality
of experiences and safety of all involved
Though
India lacks in having such precise systems in place, some remarkable
ecotourism initiatives are being demonstrated by Desia (Odisha)4,
Ecosphere (Spiti)5 and Green People India (Uttarakhand)6.
These effectively overlap responsible tourism with promotion of culture
and local livelihood skills which often include agriculture, animal
husbandry, horticulture, crafts and cuisine. Social and economic
benefits for the community are additional high value outcomes.
Such
functional models are proving to be emancipative for the communities,
both socially and economically, whilst also supporting the ecology of
the area. The Green People India Initiative, successfully running in the
mountains of Uttarakhand, diligently works towards a responsible
agro-tourism movement. They work with impoverished, marginalised farmers
to get better prices for indigenous products such as horse gram, red
rice, amaranth, mandua, rajma etc. These crops have been traditionally
grown and consumed in the area, and bringing them to a bigger market
supports the small farmers by excluding all middlemen. The initiative
has also collaborated with local people to set up non-luxury, local-run
home-stays for the adventurous traveler, giving them an opportunity to
soak in the inherent pace of life on the mountains, enhanced by local
food and culture experiences. The initiatives, in general, have been
instrumental in working towards rehabilitation after the post 2013
floods and also addressing the problem of abandonment leading to
creation of ghost villages in the state. The next step here would be to
link them to international accreditation bodies (for organic, ecotourism
labels) or setting up an Indian equivalent to earn them more credibility
and respect in the market.
Data from a
survey by an e-commerce agency also supports the claim that most
travellers always or often opt for responsible travel. They are also
known to be willing to shell out extra money, in this case at least 15%7
more to ensure a low impact on the environment around them. The
sustainability aspect adds a positive experience to the trip, which is
usually through buying local-made products, staying in eco-stays and
indulging in local food at neighbourhood eateries.
Various
aspects of the sustainable tourism model are implemented all over the
world as per the community needs and existing policy support.
Developmental tourism, for once, is the most widely accepted model as it
usually results in quick, visible results of economic betterment. The
concern thus becomes a lack of attention to social equity and
environmental issues.
To address
such deep issues, Development Alternatives recently got involved with
the National Mission on Himalayan Studies on developing ecotourism
clusters in two Himalayan states. The interventions in Uttarakhand and
Himachal Pradesh aim to nurture two sustainable tourism clusters, that
involve communities to provide nature and local skill-based livelihoods,
while also conserving the ecology of the area by exploring sustainable
measures. The integrated development model also aims to address some
cross-cutting issues of concern across the two regions and India at
large. These are:
1.
Involvement of women and youth: With an objective of focusing on
harnessing potential of women and the youth in the community, there will
be directed attempts to create livelihoods based on skills that they
already possess. These may range from culinary skills, trekking
expertise, craft mastery and skills for hospitality and management of
homestays.
2. Better
communication: To highlight a beautiful, unexplored place on the state’s
tourism map, we aim to introduce the community to the power of social
media and knowledge products for sharing their wisdom and heritage with
the world.
3. Climate
change: Introducing the community to impacts of climate change is
crucial as the Himalayan ecosystem is fragile and vulnerable to
disastrous manifestations of the phenomenon. It would also be an
additional resilience measure to promote and adopt local crops and
low-impact lifestyle patterns that have been a natural choice for their
ancestors.
While we
understand that preserving nature in its pristine form is crucial in
today’s world, we certainly see sustainable tourism as a harbinger of
change and betterment for communities in some of these inhabited areas.
Intervening with the right livelihood options for the people and
sensitising them to the fragility of the environment on which their
livelihoods depend would be paramount to sustaining the developmental
model.
There is a
national policy focus on the subject too, with state governments
drafting their own ecotourism policies that propose collaboration
between the departments of tourism and forest. Many states such as
Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan have policies or draft
guidelines on the subject8.
We are
hopeful the movement will gain momentum in the country with more
beautiful, responsibly managed destinations welcoming sensitised and
curious travelers for exploration!
■
Kavya Arora
karora@devalt.org
References:
1. Economic Impact 2016, India, World Travel and Tourism Council
2. http://sdt.unwto.org/content/about-us-5
3. http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/
feature/2018/03/01/growing-wildlife-based-tourism-sustainably-a-new-report-and-qa
4. http://www.desiakoraput.com/
5. http://www.spitiecosphere.com/about_us _team.htm
6. http://www.grppl.in/
7. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/ india-business/97-indians-travellers-eye-sustainable-tourism-in-2018-survey/articleshow
/63867379.cms
8. http://scstsenvis.nic.in/index1.aspx?lid= 1376&mid=1&langid=1&linkid=440
Image sources: DA and http://www.desiakoraput.com/
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