Kerala tourism: responsible tourism scheme to increased seasonal trade

It’s called responsible tourism. The travel trade in Kerala is beginning to rope in local communities and the environment to cater to a growing number of visitors with sensitivity.
Tourism vendors and stakeholders in four destinations – the beach retreat of Kovalam, the backwaters of Kumarakom, the hills of Kumily and the forests of Wayanad – have brought on board farmers, craftsmen, fisherfolk, women and unskilled labour force and are providing them sustainable livelihoods.
A declaration to make tourism more responsible was adopted at the Responible Tourism Conference in Cochin three years ago. And the benefits are beginning to show.
Every morning the kitchen crew at the sprawling Kumarakom Lake Resort, spread across 25 lush acres on the bank of the Vembanad lake in Kottayam, procure their vegetables, coconuts, fish, milk and rice from local farmers and fishermen.
The heritage resort, owned by the Paul Group of Hotels, is one of the 10 hotels in the Kumarakom backwater region that has implemented the Responsible Tourism Programme. Having bagged several global tourism awards, it is eco-friendly with minimum waste stipulation and recycling facilities.
‘We need around 150 coconuts and several kilos of karimeen (a sought-after local variety of fish), scambi (lake water prawns) and milk in the kitchen every day. We pay the growers and fishermen much more than the market procurement price which makes the transactions much more lucrative for them,’ Joseph Garcia, general manager of the hotel, told IANS.
‘The stocks are supplied by local women’s self-help groups known as Kudumbasree, which procures the meat, milk, cereals and vegetables from the growers.’
Launched by the Kerala government in 1998, Kudumbasree is one of the biggest women’s empowerment projects in the country aimed at eradicating poverty at the grassroots. It has more than 3.7 million members and covers nearly 50 percent of the rural households in the state, cites a government estimate.

Source: http://calcuttatube.com/kerala-tourism-responsible-tourism-scheme-to-increased-seasonal-trade/118355/