What could be common for Kerala and Barcelona, other than football? Harold Goodwin, hailed as the father of Responsible Tourism, says both the places are open to change and hence are the two leading destinations for Responsible Tourism across the globe.
Mr. Goodwin, founder and chairman of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism, advisor and jury chairman for the World Travel Market, is in Kozhikode to assess the progress of tourism initiatives at Beypore, which is being developed as a destination under the aegis of the Responsible Tourism Mission.
“Both these places [Kerala and Barcelona] have some rebellious locals who are ready to get involved in tourism activities. There are strong democratic local governments and panchayats here that take major decisions. The whole process is transparent for anyone to analyse, and finally, both these places are very good in combining marketing and management,” Mr. Goodwin said.
He was all praise for the involvement of the local community in improving the tourism potential of the State. “Kerala has shown the way in making tourism more sustainable. But it has to do something with plastic waste by converting it into something useful and then the State could be a world leader in this regard,” Mr. Goodwin said. “Here, the local people decide what product is to be sold, be it culture, history, crafts, or experience, and this is why Kerala is successful in the tourism sector,” he said.
Mr. Goodwin will visit Responsible Tourism units set up in the Beypore constituency as part of the Beypore Integral Responsible Tourism Project on Sunday and then proceed to Kannur.
