India bans tiger tourism hotels

The Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily banned any form of tourism in the core areas of tiger reserves to aid conservation efforts.

“We make it clear that till final directions are issued by this court, the core zones or core areas in the tiger reserves will not be used for tourism,” justices Swatanter Kumar and Ibrahim Kalifulla said in their order.

The core zone is an area determined on the basis of scientific and objective criteria as required to be kept inviolate for tiger conservation. For instance, the Corbett tiger reserve’s total area is 1318.54 sq. km., while its core area is 520 sq. km.

Right to information activist Ajay Dubey had filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court in July 2011 after his petition to ban tourism in the core areas of tiger reserves was rejected by the Madhya Pradesh high court in January that year.

Dubey welcomed the order. “The Wildlife Act was ineffective for an endangered species like the tiger, but this judgement will make sure that the Act is implemented,” he said over the phone from Bhopal. Tiger numbers in the country will improve, he said.

The ruling is not the final decision of the court, said Anuradha Mutatkar, counsel for the Association of Jungle Lodges of Kanha. The ban on tourism in the core areas is till 22 August, when the Supreme Court will give a final ruling in this matter. “The SC (Supreme Court) will look into the guidelines prepared by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and give a final decision,” she said.

Officials of the ministry of environment and forests said they cannot comment until they received an official order.

Conservation efforts have helped reduce tiger deaths, increasing their numbers to 1,706 in 2010 from 1,411 in 2006, according to the latest official numbers available.

But some activists worry that the large number of tourists visiting tiger reserves may be disturbing their habitats. India has 41 tiger reserves. The most visited among them—Corbett, Kanha, Periyar, Ranthambore and Bandhavgarh—attract 150,000-200,000 visitors each every year.

A tiger task force constituted in 2005 to review the management of tiger reserves had recommended that “tourism activities should not be allowed in the core of the national parks and the tiger reserves,” and that wildlife tourism need to be regulated.

“Tourism in tiger reserves needs to be extremely well managed to ensure that the direct impact on the habitats due to tourism is mitigated. The chain of command as well as the management of tourism in tiger reserves has suffered from multiple governing institutions as well as confusion in policy and regulations so far,” the task force said in its report, adding, “Done badly, it (tourism) can lead to further stress on the tiger’s habitat.”

But Vishal Singh, director of the Travel Operators for Tigers lobby group, said there was no scientific evidence to prove that the number of tigers was going down because of tourism.

“Blanket ban in core areas is not the solution. Rules will have to be different for each park,” he said, adding that since the best tiger sightings are in the core areas, tourism revenue will be affected.

Belinda Wright of the Wildlife Protection Society of India said, “Tourists act like the eyes and ears for protection of tigers and tigers have lost them today.”

Courtesy: Livemint.com

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39 sites in Western Ghats get world heritage status

A cluster of 39 sites spread over 7,953.15 sq km in the Western Ghats will now be inscribed in the World Heritage list. These include tiger reserves, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserved forests in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Kerala leads with 20 sites being inscribed in the heritage list followed by Karnataka with ten, Tamil Nadu five and Maharashtra four. In Maharashtra, the Kas plateau, the Koyna wildlife sanctuary, the Chandoli national park and the Radhanagari Wildlife sanctuary in the Sahyadri range have been given the world heritage site tag.

The decision to include the 39 sites was taken by a 21-nation panel of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) at its meeting currently on at St Petersburg, Russia. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the official World Heritage advisory body on nature, in its recommendation did not include the Western Ghats as four of the sub-clusters were not contiguous as contended by India and many did not have buffer zones. Among the concerns expressed were mining in Sindhdurga district (Radhanagari Sanctuary) and that there was no overarching management plan for the nominated sites.

India had submitted the nomination dossier to the Unesco World Heritage Centre, Paris, in February 2010. Former environment minister Jairam Ramesh had pushed hard for their inclusion and had also set up the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel to study and provide recommendations to protect the ghats.

In its media release, the WHC said a series of protected areas across the Western Ghats in India were added to Unesco's list of iconic places after a persistent campaign for world heritage status by the Indian government. "Mountains, rainforests, rivers and waterfalls are all part of the 160,000 sq km area, recognized as a global biodiversity hotspot. The Western Ghats are home to a number of flagship mammals including the endangered endemic lion-tailed Macaque, the endangered Asian elephant and the tiger.''

Lena Pillars Nature Park in Russia was also added to the prestigious list by the WHC.Crosswoods holidays 2012

Courtesy : Times Of India

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Houseboat strikes mar tourism prospects of Kumarakom

The frequent strikes by houseboat operators and workers not only put the houseboat industry in Kumarakom in turmoil, but also left a deep scar on the image of the popular tourist destination.

It was sheer uncertainty that prevailed in the last three weeks here by the unexpected strike called by the workers who demanded hike in salary. The houseboat owners too suspended the services later disagreeing with the employees' demands. This had put both domestic and foreign tourists, who had made advance bookings, in trouble.

On Monday, hours after beginning the strike, a section of houseboat workers temporarily withdrew from it following the intervention of local police.

"Government did not handle the situation properly. They are responsible for tarnishing the image of Kumarakom," said Sreekumar, a tour operator based in Kumarakom. "When my guests insist on houseboats I am forced to book houseboats in Alappuzha. It is the houseboat owners and the workers in Kumarakom who will suffer in the long run if bookings are directed to Alappuzha," he said.

"As tour operators, we only try to increase bookings and it will benefit Aleppey while Kumarakom will be at a loss," he said.

Another tour operator Binu said that the resorts here too will suffer due to the strike if the tourists are forced to remain confined to their rooms owing to strikes and it will in turn affect the whole tourism industry here.

Meanwhile, All Kerala Houseboat Owners Association (AKHOA) member R R Joshiraj said that there were no such issues in Alappuzha houseboat industry.

"Now, here is no problem between the houseboat employees and owners. If the houseboat employees in Kumarakom continue their strike, we expect more foreigners to Alappuzha for houseboat cruising," he said.

All Kerala Houseboats and Resorts Workers Union (CITU) leader C K Sadasivan MLA said, "If employees and owners conduct such strikes again, it will destroy the industry. So we will abstain from such strikes," he said.

Tourists, especially foreign tourists who stay in resorts here now depend on 'Kerala model Kashmir Shikaras'. Kunjumon who owns such a boat said that the demand for these boats is high at present. "But these boats can be used only for canal cruise and not in the backwaters," he said.

On Monday, a section of the houseboat workers began strike in the morning and tried to stop the boats which were in service. Following this, the owners sought police protection, said Pushkaran, president of the owners' association. Police briefed the workers that they were violating the agreement reached upon in the discussion with the tourism minister earlier.

Kumarakom SI M J Arun held talks with the workers following which they temporarily withdrew from the strike. "The workers said that they would discuss the issue with district CITU leaders and decide on the future course of action," he said. Meanwhile, Pushkaran said that the whole issue was the result of immaturity of the leadership of the workers.

"We have informed about the situation to the CITU senior leaders," he said.

According to the new two-year-agreement, the boat workers will get Rs 6,750 per month and a monthly allowance of Rs 170. But the workers on strike in Kumarakom wanted to reduce this contract period to one year.

Courtesy : TimesOfIndia

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Hospitality skills gap to be bridged through education and skill development

The Ministry of Tourism reckons an additional manpower requirement of 2.03 lakh in the hospitality sector during the 12th Plan period. The Ministry proposes to achieve this through expansion of institutional infrastructure; broad-basing of hospitality education; skill up-gradation and certification of service providers; skill development through short duration courses, through hotels and in niche and other products.

Addressing a conclave on Furthering Quality Capacity Building in Tourism-2012, Mr Sanjay Kothari, Special Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, pointed out, “The focus of the private sector should be on short duration courses; introduction of hospitality as vocational subject at secondary education and synergy of efforts with other ministries and organisations of Government of India and state governments.”

The 12th Plan (2012-17) envisages a growth of 12 per cent per annum in inbound and domestic tourists. The current initiatives and the ones proposed are expected to generate 25 million additional direct and indirect jobs in the country.

On the occasion, Mr Kothari also released the FICCI-YES Bank theme paper Furthering Quality Capacity Building in Tourism which emphasises that tourism sector touches a wide value chain, and it is imperative that investments into, and benefits garnered from the sector, spread out more widely and efficiently amongst the populace, thereby acting as a strong socio-economic enabler.

Mr Sidharth Birla, Vice President, FICCI, said, “The conclave aims to focus on furthering quality capacity building in four key and ground level elements for the tourism industry, namely tourist guides, taxi drivers, hotels and restaurants and tour operators and travel agents.”

“The hospitality sector is comparatively better developed with many training Institutes in place. However, capacity building needs to be institutionalised for emerging options such as budget hotels, serviced apartments and restaurants and hotels in the unorganised segment, to improve service levels,” he added.

Dr Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson, FICCI Tourism Committee and Chairperson & Managing Director, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, remarked, “The unorganised sector is a cause for concern as the level of training is uncertain although the experience of the tourists is also affected by their services. Budget hotels, restaurants, wayside amenities, small tour operators and travel agents and drivers all come under this sector.”

She called for periodic assessment by the corporate sector and the policy makers must be carried out across the key focus areas to ensure that the guidelines are adhered to and are implemented. According to Mr Tushar Pandey, President & Country Head, Strategic Initiatives Government & Advisory (SIGA) Group, YES Bank Ltd., to enhance the skills of the workforce in the travel and tourism trade, a number of initiatives would have to be undertaken by the stakeholders. These include:

The policies and guidelines have to be in sync with the market. An active industry-academia alliance is one way to ensure this, while constant interaction between the industry and the government can help the policy formulation process.

• Tour guide associations should be consultative partners during policy formulation as well as feedback.
• Assessment of training programmes is still an area of concern, since while following the criteria of ‘minimum percentage’ or ‘passing grade’ would suffice for technical, it loses its accuracy in terms of vocational education, where the purpose is ‘enabling’ instead of ‘evaluating’.
• The owner of the taxi stands/the operators on ground need to be roped in by the Department of Tourism in each state to train the ground drivers.
• The drivers, who often face precarious situations like accident and road blocks need to be trained in crisis management skills and first aid administration.
• The concept of People Public Private Partnership (PPPP) or Public Social Private Partnership (PSPP) as a more inclusive form of development is gaining force as an attempt to restore the social equity in PPP models, as the dispersive nature of the effects of incremental tourism tend to affect a wide part of the society.

Dr Arbind Prasad, Director General, FICCI, stated, “An investment of Rs 10 lakh creates 78 jobs in the tourism sector while the same generates just 18 jobs in the manufacturing and 45 in the agriculture sector.” This clearly shows the potential of the tourism sector and the conclave aims to focus exclusively on furthering the quality of capacity building to offer the tourists a pleasant and meaningful experience that would go a long way in furthering the strong image of ‘Incredible India’.

Courtesy : Indiaeducationdairy

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Western Ghats: No UNESCO tag this year

The Western Ghats may not get its World Heritage Site status in the near future.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which assesses proposals for sites of natural significance, has asked UNESCO to defer granting the WHS tag to the Western Ghats. This means that the World Heritage Convention may drop this proposal now and India can submit a fresh proposal for nomination only after three years.

The IUCN recommendation has been made in the IUCN Evaluation Report which will be presented at the 36th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) which gets under way on June 24 at Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Even last year, the proposal of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) was all set to be shot down at the WHC meeting. The Indian government at that time had fought tooth and nail, and managed to keep the proposal afloat.

Last year, the WHC had referred the nomination of the Western Ghats as a natural heritage serial site and instructed the Indian government to “harmonise arrangements between the ‘Western Ghats Natural Heritage [Management] Committee’ and the ‘Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel’ (WGEEP) and strengthen community membership and input through the establishment of the proposed ‘Western Ghats Natural Heritage Conservation Authority’ and other relevant advisory committees”.

This year, however, the IUCN assessment is acutely critical, given the Indian government’s dithering on the WGEEP report issue. Among other things, the WGEEP report had faulted the government on the virtual non-implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act. Though the IUCN document does not directly refer to the Forest Rights Act, it said that “the protection status of at least parts of the renominated property does not meet the requirements set out in the Operational Guidelines, principally due to concerns about land tenure and the strength of legal controls over development.”

The Indian government has not acted on the words of wisdom that had been directed its way last year. The government has not acted on the contentious issues of management, boundaries as well as threats posed to the Western Ghats in the year that went by.

The official proposal had hinged on two criteria primarily—that of the ecological processes of the Western Ghats and the biodiversity of the area.

The IUCN has pulled up India on both, and has in fact asked the Indian government to take into account the recommendations of the WGEEP since the panel had been specifically tasked to compile scientific data and define ecologically sensitive areas through consultation.

It has also urged India to undertake “a further consultation to facilitate increased engagement to ensure the views of all stakeholders, including local indigenous groups, are considered, in order to ensure and demonstrate broad-based support for the nomination.” This assumes significance in the light of MoEF deciding to call in for comments and views on the WGEEP report put up on its website on Wednesday.

What would be most difficult for India to adhere to would be integration of the Western Ghats area. IUCN has asked it to “establish improved coordination and integration between component sites, particularly through the preparation and implementation of an overarching management plan or framework for the serial property as a whole and through the establishment of the proposed ‘Western Ghats Natural Heritage Conservation Authority’.”

There are seven sub-clusters and 39 sites that have been mentioned in the Western Ghats nomination proposal.

courtesy : DNAindia

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India wants to double tourist numbers by 2016

India, which sees an average of six million tourists visiting the country every year, wants to double the number by the year 2016, by promoting wellness and medical tourism, Union Tourism Minister has said.

India gets just over six million tourists every year and the government wants to double this number by the year 2016, Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahai said.

He said that outbound tourists from India are four times more than inbound tourists and the government has decided to take steps to improve these numbers.

He was speaking to media on the sidelines of an Incredible India Road Show which was organised here yesterday.

Senior officials and tourism authorities of Assam, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra were also present on the occasion.

"We need 200,000 rooms in India. We need exhibition centres, convention centres, theme parks etc.

"There is scope for promoting wellness tourism, medical tourism by propagating ayurveda and yoga etc. We have the Himalayas, we have 7,000 km of coastal areas that are all potential tourist attractions," the minister said.

Sahai announced that a tourism promotion forum will be set up at the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi which will have representation from the tourism industry.

He said that around Rs 40,000 crore is needed to develop India's tourism industry.

"The tourism promotion forum will suggest ways to improve things and we will act upon their suggestions," the minister said.

 He added that a MoU will also be signed between India and the UAE to jointly promote tourism.

Speaking on the occasion, India's ambassador to the UAE M K Lokesh said there is a lot of diversity in terms of tourist attractions in India.

India is the third largest source of foreign tourists to the UAE, he said.

Tour operators and airline officials also attended a B2B session that was organised on the sidelines of the Road Show.

There has been a consistent growth of foreign tourist arrivals from the Gulf and the Middle East region to India over the last 2-3 years with year 2010 having registered an overall growth of around 17 per cent over the previous year.

According to India Tourism officials, foreign tourist arrivals in India touched 6. 29 million in 2011.

Till May this year, the number had reached 2.8 million and the foreign exchange earning during this period stood at USD 7297 million.

The ministry of tourism has set an aim to increase India's share in international tourist arrivals from 0.6 per cent to 1 per cent by the year 2016.

Courtesy: zeenews.com

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It's time to carve out a career in tourism sector

Two lakh job opportunities await people in Kerala in the tourism and hospitality industry, according to Dr Rajashree Ajith, director of the Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS).

She was speaking at the inaugural function of the two-day education expo organized by the department of tourism and KITTS at Ernakulam Town Hall on Sunday.

"According to reports of UNWTO, there will be 535 million job opportunities in South-East Asia, including India, by 2030. The benefits will definitely trickle down to Kerala and we need industry-ready, employable youth for this sector," said Rajashree stressing on the need for professional education in the field.

"KITTS will launch diploma courses for different fields such as air cargo, logistics, retail management and spa therapies by July. Due importance will be given to language skill development in German, French and Arabic. The institute claims 100% placement records.

KITTS in partnership with a Bangalore-based interface organization iNurture will be conducting courses in Thiruvanathapuram, Kochi and Thalassery," Rajashree said.

Public and private institutes in the tourism and hospitality sector are present at the expo, offering advice to those interested. The education fair was inaugurated by Hibi Eden MLA along with Riyaz Ahmed, managing director of Abad group.

"There are more than 43 lakh people in Kerala who had registered with various employment exchanges in the state. It is sad that they are trying for the 20,000-odd government job postings. Instead of waiting for it, these qualified people should look at the opportunities in this dynamic field," said Hibi.

Courtesy : Times Of India

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