Many stakeholders in the tourism sector and local bodies are hesitant to join responsible tourism initiatives, although responsible and sustainable tourism has emerged as the new normal following the COVID-19 outbreak, the State coordinator of Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission K. Rupesh Kumar has said.

“Kerala’s tourism industry is a cut above the sector in other States, due to emphasis being given to responsible tourism. But only about half the accommodation units are part of community-driven RT initiatives, although the movement dates back to 2008. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought along the need for social distancing and heightened emphasis on hygiene. The conventional approach to tourism will not help any more. Kerala already has a parallel system in the form of RT to realise sustainable tourism through community involvement. The pandemic has shifted focus from mass tourism to village tourism. The Mission already has a mechanism to ensure safe travel. Individual hotels and resorts might not be able to realise this on their own and would have to wake up to the new normal,” he said.

Mr. Rupesh said the RT Mission had a well-oiled local-produce-supply mechanism. Hotels keen to source produce from local community members can purchase them at competitive rates if they associate with RT initiatives.

The produce of RT units spread across Kerala is available online. The accommodation units will also tremendously benefit if they avail workers from the Mission’s online HR directory. It has also specified the fee for different services, from hourly wages to a full day’s wage.

Artists’ directory

Similarly, 6,000 of the 10,000 artists associated with the Mission find mention in the directory, along with the art form they specialise in, their location and the rate they charge. Those interested in availing their services can directly contact the artists, without the involvement of middlemen who tend to corner a share of the payment made by organisers of an event.

The RT Mission has also readied criteria for classification for homestays and houseboats. The certification issued by the Mission is sufficient for a venture to be classified as an approved unit.

The units have to adhere to the quality benchmark set by the Mission, which is a prerequisite to find mention on the official website.