RETHINK IN APPROACH TO TOURISM

However, there are voices within the industry that says that this is the time to pause and rethink the approach to tourism. “It’s for a reason why the mantra of responsible tourism has been about creating better places for people to live and for people to visit,” Gopinath Parayil, founder of The Blue Yonder and a pioneer in Responsible Tourism told Khaleej Times. “Tourism should also recognise how it contributes to climate change and adopt environmental management systems. Investors in tourism at all levels must build and operate in ecologically and environmentally sustainable manner, promote conservation and biodiversity during planning, development and operation of tourism.” According to him, climate change, man-made disasters and natural disasters are a reality at our door step and travel industry is as vulnerable as the local community. “This crisis should be an opportunity for Kerala Tourism industry and the government to pursue ‘Responsible Tourism’ in its truest sense by the implementation of 2008 Kerala Declaration. As of now Responsible Tourism is a small project amongst many others. Instead sustainability has to be DNA of our businesses and government policies.” “Create authentic experiences around lifestyle is key for the revival of Kerala tourism as experiential holidays are what travelers seek globally. Hence, rehabilitation phase has to be used as an opportunity to create enterprise model in tourism in partnership with local communities,” said Parayil