The district-level inauguration of ‘Utsav,' a cultural event organised by the Tourism Department, was disrupted after a group of people took out a march to the venue near the Aranmula Parthsarathy temple on Sunday.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/article272782...

The district-level inauguration of ‘Utsav,' a cultural event organised by the Tourism Department, was disrupted after a group of people took out a march to the venue near the Aranmula Parthsarathy temple on Sunday.

Kerala Tourism Watch, Kerala Swatantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation (KSMTF), Socialist Unity Center of India, (SUCI), Solidarity Youth Movement, Pedestrian Pictures and National Alliance of Anti-Nuclear Movements (NAAM)in a Press Release demanded the immediate closure of The Koodamkulam Nuclear Power Plant (India)considering the danger it poses to people in the Southern districts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The statement draws attention to the peoples' ressistance in India against Nuclear Plants.

EQUATIONS statement on World Tourism Day 27 September 2010

The High Level Dialogue on Tourism, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, the host of the WTD celebrations, will reportedly debate issues ranging from the economic value of biodiversity for tourism, to how to integrate biodiversity protection into planning for sustainable tourism. We wonder, if apart from the UNWTO itself, anyone else actually believes its propaganda!

World Tourism Day Statement, 2010
ECOT-Ecumenical Coalition on Tourism

Tourism has turned biodiversity into one of its most marketable assets. Images of the natural environment, unspoiled rainforests, crystal clear waters, wild life in their natural habitat are a standard fare in the myriad tourism advertising programmes such as Incredible India and Amazing Thailand, drawing visitors to all parts of the world.

Renjan Mathew Varghese, State Director, WWF

The most recent and bizarre of development proposal being pushed forward by the Industries Department is by an international development firm proposing to reclaim 450acres of wetlands named ‘Methran Kayal’ in Kuttanad area, and that too, to put up a 18 hole golf course, multi star hotel, condominium, luxury resorts etc. One has to realize that this proposed wetland site is part of the internationally acclaimed Ramsar Site Vembanad.

Statement issued by:
Alternative Tourism Group
Ecumenical Coalition on Tourism and
Kairos Palestine

We are amazed and appalled at your announcement that the OECD Tourism Committee will hold its annual Conference in Jerusalem in October 2010. It appears that the OECD and the deliberative processes within it seem to have belittled the sensitivity and seriousness of the conflict between Palestine and Israel. Perhaps without intending to do so, it appears by its action that the OECD is siding with one party in a dispute whose ramifications are significant for peace in the whole world, especially in the Middle East.

Kerala Tourism Watch has endorsed the Call for Action on Mega Resorts issued by the Global Tourism Interventions Forum.
For further details and to endorse this campaign, write to:

EQUATIONS, #415, 2nd C-cross, 4th main, OMBR Layout, Banaswadi
Bangalore 560043, India (Telephone: +91-80-25457607/25457659
Fax: +91-80-25457665)E-mail: campaigns@equitabletourism.org
URL: www.equitabletourism.org Or tourism investigation & monitoring team (tim-team), P.O. Box 51 Chorakhebua, Bangkok 10230, Thailand, Email: timteam02@yahoo.com, Webpage: http://www.twnside.org.sg/tour.htm

Equations, March 2009

10 March 2009
Bangalore, India – A ground-breaking study focusing on male children in prostitution in three of India’s major pilgrimage centres – Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, Puri in Orissa and Guruvayoor in Kerala – has found that the sexual exploitation of male children in these tourism hotspots is pervasive and reportedly on the rise.

Thiruvananthapuram, 06/03/02009: The Kerala Swathanthra Matsya Thozhilali Federation (KSMTF), Kerala Tourism Watch,Kerala United Fisheries Forum,Alleppy, KABANI – the other direction in joint press release demands a transparent, democratic and participatory public hearing on the artificial reef project, Kovalam.