Boost to international responsible tourism

Local economic development, poverty reduction, taking responsibility for destination sustainability, travel philanthropy and the role of government in responsible tourism would be the highlight at the four-day International Responsible Tourism Conference, which begins in Kochi on March 21.

Around 400 delegates and international speakers from over 20 countries including the UK, Germany, Gambia, South Africa, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bhutan would participate.

This is the second edition of the international meet on 'Responsible Tourism in Destinations' and has been designed to create awareness among operators, hoteliers, governments, local people and tourists to take responsibility and action to make tourism more sustainable.

These apart, concerns of those in the tourism industry with regard to the relatively new idea of responsible travel and tourism will be answered by experts who have already implemented many of these new concepts.

The conference is a follow up from the first Responsible Tourism Conference held in Capetown, South Africa, in 2002 and is being organised by Kerala Tourism and the International Centre for Responsible Tourism (India) with India Tourism as partner.

According to V Venu, secretary, Kerala Tourism, "the conference will help Kerala keep pace with international trends towards best practices and at the same time gain market advantage." International personalities including Harsh Varma, director of Development Assistance, UNWTO, and Fiona Jeffrey, chairman- World Travel Mart, are participating, he said.