Promoting co-op tourism
The four C-DMOS spread across Uttarakhand and West Bengal will help build local capacity through training and marketing activities using a co-operative model.
Edge of India has a set-up of four Co- operative Destination Management Organisations (c-DMO) in India, which was announced at the recently-held National Seminar titled ‘Co-operative Tourism: The next SocioEconomic Enabler’ in New Delhi.
“Edge of India is a network of rural communities in remote parts of India, offering homestays in villages 'off the beaten track' with extraordinary cultural and natural heritage. The network was developed through a programme funded by the Scottish Government and implemented by partners in India and Scotland, including Dunira Strategy, Queen Margaret University and the Strategic Initiatives, Government & Advisory (SIGA) division of Yes Bank and with web development by Ezone,” said Andrew J
Frew, Director of Research, Queen Margaret University.
“The four C-DMOs, spread across four districts in Uttarakhand and West Bengal, will help build local capacity through training and marketing activities and using co-operative model for destination management. We chose India to share the cooperative principles developed by Robert Owen at Scotland's New Lanark and also draws on Dunira's work in destination management in such places as Highland Perthshire, and SIGA's work on using tourism as one of the tools to achieve an inclusive growth model for India,” said Benjamin Carey, Managing Director, Dunira Strategy, who gave the joint presentation.
For small villages that previously almost never saw a tourist, the network is transformational. The network has been presented at leading tourism fairs, including GITB and WTM.
Further, Anand Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, said, “The model based on participation of the local community seems perfect to develop and promote newer attraction.”
Here, Tushar Pandey, Senior President and Country Head, Strategic Initiatives, Government & Advisory (SIGA), Yes Bank said, “We will work with the Ministry of Tourism to engage them in promotion and development of newer destinations through the CDMO model.”