24 February 2006

To
Mr. Mandip Singh Soin,
Member Finalists' Selection Committee
Tourism for Tomorrow Awards 2006

Dear Mr. Soin,

Greetings from EQUATIONS!!

Established in 1985, EQUATIONS is an advocacy and campaigning organisation charged with the vision of democratising tourism in India. In the last two decades our work has focussed on the impacts arising out of unregulated and irresponsible tourism development in India and the developing world. We do this through research, information analysis and dissemination, campaigns, advocacy and lobbying. We believe that alternatives to the current models of mass tourism are viable and we have demonstrated this in innovative partnerships that place local communities’ needs and rights at the centre of decision-making and benefits of tourism development.

In Kerala, EQUATIONS has been a credible and consistent voice critiquing the unsustainable and often unjust practices of tourism in the state. We associated closely with the Government of Kerala in ensuring the democratisation of tourism practise is reflected in its policy document – Vision 2025. We have been involved in the monitoring of tourism trends, documented and protested blatant violations and engaged in campaigns along with our strong network partners against unsustainable practices in tourism. Our campaign on the Bekal Tourism project highlights the undemocratic practice of the authorities and “selling” of this peaceful coastal village has forced the government to re-look at the project and listen to people’s concerns. In Kumarakom, EQUATIONS has partnered at the grass roots level resulting in the grama panchayat bringing out a “Peoples Charter on Sustainable Tourism in Kumarakom”. The panchayat in 2004 formed a Functional Committee on Tourism with local stakeholder participation to address tourism issues. We have highlighted in the state the impacts of international trade agreements like the GATS on further exacerbating the already negative impacts of tourism.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has announced the 12 finalists for the 2006 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards on 25th January 2006 and Kerala has been selected as one of the three finalists in the Destination category along with Crete's Culinary Sanctuaries, Greece and Sierra Gorda, Mexico.

The WTTC website states that the Destination Award is given to a destination which comprises a network of tourism businesses and organizations - a country, city, state or region - which has shown dedication to and success in maintaining a policy of sustainable management incorporating social, cultural, environmental and economic aspects as well as multi-stakeholder engagement. The winner will demonstrate maximum positive benefit and minimum negative impact, and the adoption of plans and policies that promote sustainability.

Given the stated criteria that the award committee is supposed to rely on, local communities in tourism destinations would be bewildered to find Kerala being selected as one of the finalists for the destination award. The State Tourism Department has done very little to ensure maximum benefits to the local communities or minimum negative impacts to the natural environment. The Department of Tourism, which has brought out the Kerala Tourism (Conservation and Preservation of Areas) Act 2005 under the pretext of conservation of tourism areas, has failed to ensure protection to the environment. On the contrary the Act has given powers to declare any area with tourism potential to be declared as special tourism zones. This has resulted in unplanned tourism development in the declared zones of Kumarakom, Kovalam, Munnar and Fort Kochi.

The WTTC news release also says, “Kerala has long been a favourite destination in India and tourism is a vital source of income for the state. It is a catalytic agent for generating employment, an important source for earning foreign exchange, a vehicle for developing the environment as well as a valuable tool for preserving the State's culture and heritage. Sustainable tourism development in Kerala is driven by the Tourism Developmental Authority, which comprises public and private sector stakeholders. The state has framed legislation for the development of tourism and is undertaking a wide variety of projects focusing on conservation, preservation, community development and raising awareness of the importance of responsible tourism development to both communities and visitors,” probably relying only on the official website of Kerala Tourism www.keralatourism.org for this perspective. We would urge the WTTC to engage with a wider set of stakeholders and with communities that are impacted by tourism before concluding this picture postcard perspective. We would like to present brief vignettes of the “other side”.

Maximum benefit to local communities?

In 2005, Kovalam witnessed encroachment of government land by big hotel groups, one of which had blocked a pathway that the local people have been using for years. The 11 illegal constructions listed by the Union Environment Ministry for action include some hotels in Kovalam.

The ECPAT study on “A Situational Analysis of Child Sex Tourism in India” conducted by EQUATIONS in 2003 revealed the child sex tourism aspects in Kovalam. Also the study “Trafficking in Women and Children in India”, conducted by the National Human Rights Commission published in January 2006 states that the beaches of Goa and Kovalam are increasingly becoming the main destinations for those seeking child prostitutes. It adds “In places like Alappuzha, foreign tourists stay in houseboats, making houseboat sex tourism a new and thriving concept. This is a safe method, as there are hardly raids on houseboats.’’

The National Crime Records Bureau in its website indicates that Kerala has recorded a significant increase of 185.7 per cent (7 cases in 2003 increased to 20 cases in 2004) in the case of Procuration of Minor Girls.

Minimum negative impacts?

In June 2005 in Kumarakom, the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) has drastically cut mangroves, which has been the roosting and nesting place for many species of birds. This is not the first time KTDC is involved in mangrove destruction. In 2004, mangroves at the bird sanctuary were cut by them so that tourists had easy visibility of birds! This obviously resulted in the decrease in number of bird species in 2005 compared to 2004. Private resort groups constructed resorts in the backwaters of Vembanad and one can still see the huge walls being erected in the backwaters demarcating the property of resorts in the backwater.

In Munnar, a large number of unauthorised buildings came up endangering ecological balance. Finally the Kerala High Court had to direct the Chief Secretary to take steps to prevent unauthorised constructions. The guidelines prepared for Munnar as part of declaring it as special tourism zone are explicitly silent on the cautious approach to be taken while developing the roads. But it talks about the need to strengthen the regional infrastructure and connectivity listing a number of roads that need to be widened or constructed. Widening of roads is a double-edged sword as hill slopes will have to be invariably cut and the debris will be dumped in the slopes, which will cause siltation in streams.

Around 350 houseboats ply in the backwaters of Alappuzha per day. 100-ml sewage water discharged even from the bio-toilet-fitted houseboats contains 9,000 to 30,000 coliform bacteria as per the report by the State Pollution Control Board. The permissible level is 50 in 100-ml of drinking water and 500 in 100-ml bathing water.

Policies that ensure sustainability? Or usurping the rights of people?

The new policy initiatives of the tourism department have sidelined the democratisation and decentralisation process in the state. The Kerala Tourism (Conservation and Preservation of Areas) Act 2005 has been used as a tool to usurp powers of panchayats in certain geographical areas, which the Government feels are most profitable zones for expansion of tourism in the State. As per the Act, a centralised committee of bureaucrats have been entrusted to perform the functions pertaining to tourism planning, implementation of plans, evolving the new projects, enforcing the guidelines for the development of special tourism zones, rendering appropriate advices to the local authorities and overall monitoring and regulation of the tourism development.

This is not the only instance of Tourism Department sidelining the role of panchayats. The Government has also amended the Kerala Local Authorities Entertainments Tax Act of 1961 by the Kerala Local Authorities Entertainments Tax (Amendment Bill) 2005. With the Bill, the government may by notification in the Gazette, constitute a Committee for the purpose of categorization of the amusement parks, ensuring the safety of parks and advise the government for review of the tax structure every three years. The committee does not have any representation from the Panchayat in which the amusement park is located and has taken away their powers to levy tax and ensure safety measures, which the Indian Constitution has mandated for the panchayats through its 73rd and 74th amendment.

It is interesting to note that in the Kerala Ayurveda Health Centres (Issue of License and Control) Ordinance, 2006 Ordinance, there is again an attempt by the Government to usurp powers given to the Local Self Government Institutions. Even if an Ayurvedic Health Centre has procured a license from the local Self Govt. Institution, it will have to apply and get fresh license or renew license from the Department of Indian System of Medicine under the Govt. of State of Kerala. The license obtained from the LSG Institutions even if not explicitly mentioned in the ordinance, actually stands defunct.

All these cases refer to the government’s policies of sidelining the involvement of local communities in the tourism projects. Local participation in tourism is sometimes the token inclusion of members of local self governance in committees, which is clearly dominated by bureaucrats.

Responsible Tourism? Responsible to whom?

In Kumbalanghi, the project is involved in the creation of a ‘Kalagramam’, which will be carved out on a 4-acre land in the backwaters of Kallencheri by sand filling. The dredging work has already begun at Kumbalanghi. It is estimated to cost Rs.35 lakhs. The Department of Tourism has given Rs.10 lakhs while the Department of Fisheries will provide the rest.6 We seriously question the practice of filling up of backwaters as environmentally sustainable?

The Endogenous tourism project of the UNDP aims to promote new and innovative approaches to build livelihood opportunities in rural areas through community action. Its focus is to develop the culture, craft and sustainable dimensions of rural life, as a means to viable livelihood opportunities for low-income rural communities. In Aranmula, the project fund is being used to providing shelter to pilgrims camping at the Sree Parthasarathy Temple. We fail to see the links to promoting culture, crafts and sustainable rural life.

In Thekkady, the number of visitors entering the sanctuary area is increasing day by day. More and more areas of sanctuary are being opened up for tourism purposes in the name of conservation. The Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC has three hotels within the buffer area (tourism zone) of the sanctuary. Although the lease period of the land given to KTDC for hotels expired in 1996, the Tourism Department is unwilling to give back the land to Forest Department. We question the lack of a regulatory mechanism in view of the high influx of tourists visiting a region that is environmentally fragile? The report on “Visitor Management & Participatory Ecotourism Strategy for Periyar Tiger Reserve and Surrounds” prepared and submitted in 2002 by EQUATIONS for the Kerala Forest Department clearly highlighted these unsustainable tourism practices.

In Thenmala, propagated as the first planned ecotourism project, the level of community participation and direct benefits to the local community is negligible. The site has a Musical Dancing Fountain, concrete sculptures, and elevated walkways. A strange notion of ecotourism indeed!

We understand that you as a member of the Finalist Selection Committee visited Kerala for onsite verification to ensure that the requirements outlined in the award applications are indeed being met in practice. Media reports quote you as stating “that the tourism development in Kerala was eco-friendly and the stake holders were actively involved in its development”.7 Many civil society organisations and concerned people in Kerala who are part of a strong network of academics, activists that we are engaged with have already commenced the process of writing to the Committee to place the facts before you. We would be happy to engage with the Committee with reports, studies of many years to substantiate to you that by any standards – national or international – Kerala’s policies and practices on tourism are far from sustainable! We hope your committee will take this into account before such awards for Kerala’s model of tourism are considered and hastily bestowed.

On behalf of the EQUATIONS team
Saroop Roy
State Networking Associate – Kerala

CC: Mr. Costas Christ, Chairman, Final Judging Panel WTTC