TOURISM INDIA MARCH 2019 TOURISM INDIA FEBRUARY 2019 | Page 21

K
erala’s successes with Responsible
Tourism (RT) can pivot the state
to a high rank in the attainment
of the globally accepted Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030,
internationally accredited tourism expert
Dr Harold Goodwin has said.
“The most important thing for me is
the success of the Responsible Tourism
Mission and the way in which local
communities have been enabled to earn
from tourism as an additional livelihood.
Local communities don’t stop what they
were doing before but have an additional
source of income,” noted Dr Goodwin,
who is the Founder and Managing Director
of the International Centre for Responsible
Tourism.
During a recent visit to Kerala in
connection with an international
symposium on People's Participation for
Participatory Planning & Empowerment
through Responsible Tourism (PEPPER),
organised by the Responsible Tourism
Mission under the Tourism Department,
he said the state can also favourably score
in the aspects of alternative technologies,
soil and water management.
“Everybody struggles with carbon, but
in Kerala there is a fairly rapid uptake
of alternative technologies such as solar
which is very successful -- very good
management of water resources, small-
scale but very productive agriculture
with intensive use of the land and the
management of the soil along with a
very productive horticulture,” the expert
observed.
On partnerships for the SDGs, Kerala
can be among the best places in the world,
said Dr Goodwin, an Emeritus Professor at
Manchester Metropolitan University and
Advisor to the World Travel Market.
“When I see the relationship between
the Tourism Minister or the Director and
the Panchayats, I don’t know anywhere
else in the world where this is possible,
except probably in a city like Barcelona,”
he explained.
On how tourism sector can contribute
to the state’s rebuilding after the August
floods, Dr Goodwin said the only way the
tourism industry can help in the recovery
is to get back on its feet and get tourists
travelling here. “Kerala is a very beautiful
place to visit,” he added.
He had also a word of appreciation for
the political system and the Panchayats
in Kerala who he said did not ignore the
interests of the local people.
“If you remember the tsunami, though
it was a very different situation, what
was striking there is that the opportunity
was taken to remove the local people
from the tourist areas. That has not
happened here,” he pointed out.
Speaking about the disaster, Dr
Goodwin added, “To be honest, I
expected to see a lot more damage. One
of the problems about natural disasters,
when they hit tourism areas, is that the
news of the disaster travels very fast, the
news of the recovery does not.”
Though cautioning Kerala against
the risk of ‘over tourism’, Dr Goodwin
welcomed the growth of Vaikom as an RT
destination, which has helped to shift the
burden from Kumarakom.
To sustain the successes in RT
destinations, he stressed the importance
of marketing so that the villagers reap
the benefits of their investments
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