of tourism and capacity studies on destinations – an exercise that is vital for planning strategies for sustainable and responsible tourism.
Among the key recommendations at the session was the need for a pool of ideas and resources that can be accessed by all stakeholders in RT and better documentation of best practices from the tourism industry, case studies and reports that can be learning tools for practitioners.
He said the official RT website of the Kerala government could be a resource to post these ideas and reports for all stakeholders to access.
“ We also need to develop best practice guidelines for tourism construction, how energy and environment friendly the buildings must be. And we require more experts and organisations to assist us with carrying out reliable carrying capacity studies,” he said.
There was also a suggestion to set up a specialised Sustainability University’ in Kerala to focus on academics and research related to the subject.
The inclusion of RT as part of the curriculum or as an extra-curricular activity carried out through tourism clubs in schools and colleges was an idea supported by a number participants at the conference. Shri Roy said KITTS will soon introduce a certificate course in RT specifically for practitioners.
Shri C Jayakumar from the Thiruvananthapurambased NGO Thanal said RT should address, besides air, water, soil and aesthetic pollution, the problem of light pollution caused by excessive, environmentally-damaging use of artificial light.
A number of similar suggestions were put forward at the session focused on economic responsibility.
The lead speaker, Dr B Vijyakumar, Principal, KITTS, said there was a need for support mechanisms for micro enterprises started by women in RT destinations.
Also, existing marketing strategy for RT had to be strengthened and promoted so small businesses linked to it could earn a sustainable income.“ Innovation should be linked with RT initiative, particularly in developing niche products and entering into niche market areas. Such innovators must be given support,” he said. A number of entrepreneurs are interested in
50
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
July 2013
METRO mart