This story is from February 12, 2019

Tourism expert hails state’s success story

Tourism expert hails state’s success story
Harold Goodwin
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Success achieved in Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission can pivot the state to a high rank in the attainment of sustainable development goals (SDGs) — global goals set by the UN — by 2030, said internationally-accredited tourism expert Harold Goodwin.
“RT Mission has succeeded to enable local communities earn a livelihood from tourism in addition to their current source of income,” said Goodwin, who is the founder and managing director of the international centre for responsible tourism.

Tourism expert hails state’s success story

Goodwin, who was in the state to attend an international symposium on People’s Participation for Participatory Planning & Empowerment through Responsible Tourism (PEPPER), organized by the RT Mission under the state tourism department, 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 rapid uptake of alternative technologies such as solar, which is very successful; proper management of water resources; though small-scale, productive agriculture with intensive land use patterns and soil management along with a highly productive horticulture sector,” he said.
Goodwin, an emeritus professor at Manchester Metropolitan University and adviser to the World Travel Market (WTM), also hailed the positive environment here. “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 said.
Goodwin said the only way the tourism industry can help in the post-flood recovery is to get back on its feet and attract tourists. “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,” he said. Though cautioning Kerala against the risk of ‘over tourism’, Goodwin welcomed the growth of Vaikom as an RT destination, ‘which has helped shift the burden from Kumarakom’.
To sustain the successes in RT destinations, he stressed the importance of marketing so that the villagers reap benefits of their investments.
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