Adopt this, or die!

Sustainability and community-based tourism has become an important element in tourism. Julian Matthews, Chairman, TOFTigers, discusses how India’s tour operators can arm themselves to face the future.

Covid-19 has been a mirror to the travel sector – highlighting both the good in tourism, but also the bad that we had got into a habit of accepting. Local communities in destinations have felt this directly.

We still see some activities and practices in India that are not sustainable. The elephant in any room is a numbers game – the sheer volume in any destination, whether it is to Taj Mahal as a sightseer, Leh as a traveller or to a mela as a pilgrim. Destinations cannot take the sheer volume of people and its necessary infrastructure.  We are going to have to restrict numbers by clever regulation and ticketing ultimately.

What can the trade do?

Tour operators can also contribute to developing sustainable tourism. They play a critical role in informing clients, in highlighting places, working with destinations and indirectly clients to make informed decisions that ensure their clients are happy and the destination is the primary beneficiary.

They can educate and inform themselves about this in order to guide their clients. TOFTigers runs a host of tutorials and events to encourage and incentivise best practice across the supply chain. But we need more training institutes and courses and workshops to spread the word and ensure governments and civil society understand the essence of sustainability and actions needed to ensure it is embedded in policies.

TOFTigers has launched the globally-recognised ‘Travelife’ certification for tour operators recently to allow DMCs and tour operators to upgrade their businesses and be recognised for their efforts, and better able to get contracts now with international tour operators who demand this certification.

It is important for tour operators today to update themselves on this. There is demand and pressure for change. The demand by the international travel sector is now increasingly moving towards sustainable travel, and expecting it to be built in as part of their travels.  Nature-based, community-based and ecotourism are in huge demand – so tour businesses need to react to consumers – or die. One activity they can adopt quickly is building itineraries that are more region based, reducing flying time and endless transportation, and staying in special places for longer. Make a two-night stay a minimum, and a five-night stay in any one place an ideal.

Government needs to respond

Unfortunately, the Indian Government and state tourism ministries have been far too slow to react to this change or even talk about it. Laws and policies are just not in place to make it happen, and this is why India at the very bottom of the world ranking for sustainable tourism (source: Euromonitor Research, March 2021). I would like to see more community-based tourism, for it to become a central feature of Indian tourism. This can only be done by catalysing local communities and villages to bring together their key assets and own them.