Two global tour operators have withdrawn tours to India's Andaman and Nicobar islands as a protest against the degrading "human safaris" to see the Jarawa tribe.
Travelpickr, a global company based in Canada and India, and Spanish company Orixa Viatges have become the first operators to withdraw following UK based Survival International's call for a tourism boycott of the islands until 'human safaris' are stopped.
The organization is asking nearly 200,000 tourists who visiting the islands every year to stay away - until tourists are banned from the road through the Jarawa forest and an alternative sea route set as per a TOI report.
Survival's director Stephen Corry said on Thursday, "In travelers' eyes, the Andamans are increasingly becoming synonymous with human safaris. The islands' reputation has undoubtedly been severely damaged by the scandal."
Head of Travelpickr Rene Trescasess said, "We were appalled to learn about the human safaris and have now withdrawn over 40 tours to the Andaman Islands."
Viatges said, "We have removed the Andaman Islands from our list of tourist destinations. We don't understand this kind of tourism - we believe that people and cultures should be treated with respect, rather than used by unscrupulous people making a profit."
Survival has written to over 200 travel companies and websites in 11 countries, urging them to stop their tours to the islands.
A public campaign will soon be launched targeting tourists to discourage them from visiting the popular travel destination. Survival is also asking members of the public to pledge not to travel to the islands until the demands are met. Over 2000 people have already pledged their support and said they won't visit the island.
Hundreds of tourists from India and around the world, mostly from Israel, UK and US, travel along the Andaman Trunk Road every day to ogle at members of the Jarawa tribe. The 400-strong Jarawa tribe is believed to be part of the first human migration out of Africa.
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