ITANAGAR, 1 Mar: Representatives of the Arunachal Pradesh tourism department participated in the first Global Responsible Tourism Summit, organised by Kerala Tourism at Kumarakom, Kerala, from 25-28 February.
The mission of the event was to “encourage the adoption of responsible tourism [RT] principles and practices by tourism trade and other stakeholders,” according to a release.
During the summit, Arunachal’s Tourism Deputy Director Bengia Manna Sonam made a presentation on her department’s initiatives for promotion of community-based tourism and responsible tourism “as a tool to empower rural communities.”
She also highlighted the initiative of documenting the intangible cultural heritage of the state.
Sonam informed that Chullyu, a small village in Lower Subansiri district, “has been adopted under the RT initiative for initiating community-level activities and developing strong tourism-community links to raise the standard of living and empower the marginalised.”
During the inaugural session, a book on the intangible cultural heritage of Arunachal was handed over to the co-chair of the event, Dr Harold Godwin from the United Kingdom, the founder of the Responsible Tourism Movement.
Prominent speakers like Dr Harold Goodwin, Susan Fergusan, Dr V Venu, Poulima Pal, Glyan O’Leary, Raj Basu, Richard Hearn, and Charmarie Maelge spoke on globally responsible and sustainable tourism practices; the Indian practices of sustainable tourism; the Kerala model of responsible tourism practices; the state governments’ role in using tourism as a tool for local development, etc.
The speakers and delegates also visited a model gram panchayat in Vaikom headquarters of Kottayam district. The panchayat has adopted RT for community empowerment and economic development.
The Arunachal team also included a tour operator, a homestay operator, and TIO Bishal Aran.
