Pitch for climate-friendly tourism products

Though Kerala Tourism is geared towards environmental protection and sustainability, high priority needs to be given by the stakeholders to make tourism products 'climate-friendly' to address issues of mitigation and adaptation in view of climate change. The need for climate-friendly products has come at a time when World Tourism Day was observed under the aegis of the UNWTO on September 27 with the theme 'Tourism: Responding to the challenge of climate change.'Opportunistic product packaging on the lines of Sri Lanka and Indonesia for adaptation and mitigation to address the issue along with government policies are needed in Kerala, says C. Jayakumar of Thanal. World-wide, tour operators are taking steps to reduce carbon footprint. Vermicomposting is taken up for offsetting carbon in some countries and carbon credit saved is sold in the international market on the tourism sector. In Bali, one dollar is collected additionally from those who check into hotels for carbon neutrality programmes such as tree planting drives. Tourist traffic from developed countries via long-haul flights account for 2.7 per cent of total emissions. In addition, the domestic trips lead to increased emissions of pollutant gases and excessive consumption of water and energy."Foreign tourists flocking to Kerala from around the world would be willing to pay for carbon offsetting programmes. Stakeholders in the tourism industry should come forward to take the initiative," he says. Organic farming is a declared mitigation and adaptation strategy for climate change. The organic farming policy introduced by the State Biodiversity Board is a welcome approach.But, Mr. Jayakumar says Kerala Tourism should come forward and tell the tourists about such initiatives. The Responsible Tourism initiative launched in Kovalam, Kumarakom, Thekkady and Wayanad can also be effectively used to address the issue. Secretary, Kerala Tourism, V. Venu told The Hindu that the department was working on a proposal for energy audit of the tourist destinations. Talks have already been held with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, a statutory body under Union Ministry of Power, at the recent Kerala Travel Mart

 

 

The Hindu, 4^th October 2008