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By Naren Karunakaran Kerala is recording a double-digit growth in tourism. Accompanying this are appropriation of commons by resorts, violations of coastal regulations, loss of livelihoods for fishermen, and a mindless destruction of the local ecology. How can Kerala promote a more responsible tourism?
‘Gods own country,’ as Kerala is promoted by the tourism fraternity, is on the cusp of change. The state has lately recorded double-digit -- 11% -- growth in tourism, a pace few other destinations in the world have seen. This, expectedly, has ushered in benefits to the tourism sector and also, through a trickle effect, the local citizenry. The scorching pace, however, has raised fears about the trend’s sustainability. Perhaps nothing symbolises this angst more than Kumarakom on the banks of the Vembanad backwaters of Kerala, whose beauty takes one’s breath away. But beneath the beauty there are a number of festering issues -- appropriation of commons by resort groups; blatant violation of coastal regulation zone rules; fishermen losing their livelihoods as powered boats tear away fishing nets; access to common resources blocked for villagers; and the mindless destruction of mangroves, breeding grounds for birds and fish. “Who owns these backwaters? The people or the resort- and luxury-boat-owners,” asks Aleyamma Vijayan of Sakhi, Women’s Resource Centre, voicing the concerns of various community groups in Kerala. A few boat-owners who uphold certain codes of responsible conduct are also unhappy with the developments. Today, over 400 tourist boats of all sizes traverse the backwaters. Little thought is given to carrying capacity -- the number of boats the backwaters can support. Pollution of the backwaters is also a worrying factor. “Very soon we will be unable to anchor our boats as piles of plastic and other waste build up on the lake bottom,” says Jose Mathew, Managing Director, Rainbow Cruises, and also President of the Association of Boat Owners. Apart from the environmental aspects, there are social and other issues too -– exploitation of labour, reluctance to integrate local self-government bodies (panchayats) in tourism management, and, most importantly, a perceived feeling of alienation nursed by communities that do not benefit from tourism. This, in fact, has led to a number of attacks on foreign tourists. “The problem will only get worse in the future as, along with rich foreign tourists, affluent and new-rich domestic travellers also begin to throng Kerala,” warns K C Chandrahasan, Managing Director, Kerala Travels Interserve Ltd. Chandrahasan presides over an initiative -- lullaby@varkala -- seen as a ‘best practice’ in community-centred tourism. However, according to V Venu of Kerala Tourism, these problems pose both a threat and an opportunity for Kerala. He is currently in the process of bringing together all the stakeholders -– the tourism industry, civil society, and government -- to develop a ‘Kerala Model of Responsible Tourism’. “This is how we will position Kerala in the near future. A destination that upholds, adheres to and celebrates responsible tourism,” says Venu, who hosted a two-day brainstorming workshop on responsible tourism in Trivandrum recently. Shoring up the triple bottom line of tourism -- economic, social and environmental -- and thereby addressing the numerous problems related to the sector will be the focus of Kerala Tourism. “It is difficult to sustain high levels of tourism and also ensure continuous growth. What Kerala has achieved, in terms of scale, is good. It’s time responsibility is infused into the effort,” says Harold Goodwin, an evangelist for responsible tourism. Kerala, in fact, has been so smitten it has decided to host the second International Conference on Responsible Tourism Destinations in September 2007. (Naren Karunakaran is a Delhi-based journalist) InfoChange News & Features, May 2007
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