Governments are being advised to measure the success of tourism initiatives not by the number of visitor arrivals each year but by the value these tourists bring to the local economies at each destination. 

As the three-day International Conference on Responsible Tourism (RT) at Kumarakom concluded on Saturday, a number of suggestions emerged on how the industry move towards achieving the triple bottom line of environmental sustainability, economic growth and socio-cultural conservation. 

Mr Harold Goodwin, professor at Leeds Metropolitan University and the director of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism, who summed up the proceedings of the conference at the valedictory function on Friday, said the RT movement in Kerala is in great shape at the moment. 

Achievements over the past five years have included enduring partnerships between panchayats, self-help groups, the local communities and the industry; a new tourism policy focused on RT; the RT classification system; generation data on the RT experience in Kerala; and demonstrable and measurable benefits going to local communities. 

He said while it was a good start, there was much that could be done and advised the state government to focus on measuring, reporting and looking at the yield and not just the number of arrivals. 

“It is not the number of people but the amount of profit that is made from each visitor that matters. Don’t worship numbers, it is about the value tourism brings to the local economy,” he said. 

The conference, organised by the Department of Tourism in partnership with RTSchool@KITTS, concluded on Saturday after a day-long by delegates around Kumarakom following two days of discussions. 

Shri. B K Saroop Roy, State Project Co-ordinator, Responsible Tourism Initiative, KITTS, who summed up the discussions at a session held on Friday on the environmental responsibility of RT, said experts, specialists groups and organisations must come forward and contribute ideas on carrying out reliable impact assessment 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 Thiruvananthapuram-based 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 entering into and investing in production, marketing and other areas of tourism; but they require technical support for preparing projects and implementing them in a feasible manner, he added. 

Among other major recommendations were, public-private partnership in promoting investment at the local level; and ensuring public health, safety and security systems at tourism destinations for sustainable growth. 

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