Responsible Tourism Summit 2015 by Outlook traveller

Mr. Indranil Roy, President and Publisher, Outlook group

Very curious to know about what all Responsible Tourism entails, I was eager to attend the Responsible Tourism Summit 2015 by Outlook traveller. When I read the agenda, I got even more curious. Mr. Indranil Roy, President and Publisher, Outlook group welcomed us. He provided the reason why Responsible Tourism is important. Responsible Tourism , brainchild of Outlook Traveller presented by Kerala Tourism started three months back with an aim to make all travellers conscious of an urgent need to respect the environment and culture of a destination.

Post welcome by Mr. Indranil, there was Lamp lighting ceremony.

Lamp lighting ceremony

Mr. Vinod Zutshi, Secretary , Tourism Government of India welcomed the initiative of Responsible Tourism. He said, Outlook Traveller is one of the best publication in the country that promotes Domestic Tourism. That the Government is keen to support Responsible Tourism in every possible way. He added that the time is now to take action to be able to conserve our ecosystems while making best use of destination and other resources of Tourism.

Mr. Vinod Zutshi, Secretary , Tourism Government of India

Harold Goodwin, Professor of Responsible Tourism, Manchester Metropolitan University and Director, International Centre for Responsible Tourism adressed audience by emphasising on approach to manage tourism to maximize better usage with minimum cost. Responsible Tourism exerts full respect towards environment and culture. Conservation of natural and cultural heritage , understanding of social and environmental issues. For example he showed a slide where tourists were taking snaps of orphans. Professor said, the tourist should be sensitive towards locals of a destination. He was seconded by Mr. Vinod Zutshi. Professor said, there can be better interaction between tourists, communities and environment. He added how an off grid resort in Madhya Pradesh is utilizing solar energy to produce electricity and geo thermal resources for air conditioning. He added that a destination can be kept clean with the help of stake holders.Certification and verification of a prospect stakeholder is a must.

Harold Goodwin, Professor of Responsible Tourism, Manchester Metropolitan University

Mr. Jose Dominic, MD and CEO of CGH Earth shared an experience of how CGH Earth came on world’s tourism map. He explained the usage of locally available commodities and arts and craft made CGH as an authentic destination experiences. How coconut peels were used in making roofs of the resort which helped in keeping it cold even during hot season. Implementation of this technique totally avoided the need of air conditioning of resort.

Ms. Tanvi Sundriyal , AMD MP Tourism emphasised on how Rural Tourism can help in Responsible Tourism. She advised about Home stay registration cum programe. Tanvi provided examples of Tourism in Madai Hoshangabad. She said that it was unfortunate to still have campaigns like Clean India whereas environment and locations should be kept clean as basic civic sense.

There were also panels discussing various facets of Responsible Tourism.

Panel Discussion by Tanvi Sundriyal, Pronab Sarkar, Mark Watson, Jose Dominic, Jyoti Kapur and Shama Pawar ( L-R)

Panel discussion by Manisha Pande, Belinda Wright, Ram Pratap Singh, Sunil Kumar, Shoba Mohan, Mandip Singh Soi (L-R)

Jyoti Kapur, President, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India highlighted how Spiritual Tourism in India is so advanced where millions of people gather on special occasions and government and other tourism stake holders seamlessly operate during that time. Logical reasoning to be provided to kids and incentives to keep their towns clean and respect the culure of a city or a town. There are countries where water is sprinkled on roads to avoid dust in mornings.

Then it was a lunch break followed by a fabulous fashion show after lunch

Fashion show

All Participants of Fashion Show

Mr. Pranob Sarkar -Honorary Secretary, IATO re enfirced the need to be a responsible stakeholder of the tourism industry, be it hotel, tourists, tour operator, The centre and state governments, locals or service providers.

Mr. Nakul Anand, Executive Director, ITC showcased Responsible Tourism initiatives of ITC Hotels. He spoke about changing attitudes amongst travellers: “patrons want luxury brands to reflect their awareness, concern for sustainability.Luxury is changing from conspicuous consumption to conscientious consumption,” he said. How ITC has customized meals to support and conserve environment and resources while taking care of needs of guests. 

Mr. Aman Nath, Chairman, Neemrana Hotels told how they had converted deserted remnants of heritage properties into full blown hotels. Before and after pictures showed the level of commitment and innovations involved in the whole transformation while keeping the basics of buildings. He told about how Neemrana hotels have been taking care of cleanliness and also how these old deserted properties are preserved. Mr. Aman also emphasized on the need of contribution from other stake holders to help in Responsible Tourism.

The day-long Summit, held at the ITC Maurya, created a first-of-its-kind platform for all stakeholders of RT to network, liaise, share best practices, and discuss the way forward to develop a cohesive Responsible Tourism blueprint for India. A host of eminent speakers included Ashwini Lohani (CMD, Air India), Jeremy Smith (CEO & co-founder Travindy), Mandip Singh Soin (Founder and Managing Director, Ibex Expeditions, and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society) , Shama Pawar (Kishkinda Trust) , Suman Billa( Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, GOI), Mr. Santosh Mishra( Chhattisgarh Tourism), Mr. Anoop Shrivastav ( Deputy Director, UP Tourism), Mark Watson and Dr.Venu.

The RT Summit 2015 was ably supported by State Partners including Chattisgarh Tourism, UP Tourism, Incredible India, Gujarat Tourism, Kerala Tourism and Uttarakhand Tourism.