Even as caravans are being touted as the next best thing in Kerala’s tourism sector, key players advise caution, considering its potential impact on pollution-free far-flung locales with few accommodation options.
Tourism officials have been stating that caravans have the potential to emulate houseboats and homestays that catapulted the State’s tourism sector to global acclaim over a decade ago. They further say that the entire eco-system of Keravan Kerala — the brand name of the project — will be sustainable with power being sourced from the grid. Generators will just be a back-up in the event of a power outage, they say.
Narrow roads
But sceptics abound. “The bus-type caravans that can carry four guests are not suited for the narrow, winding roads that lead to most remote tourism locales in Kerala. It would also leave a high per-capita carbon footprint,” said George Scaria, president of Tourism Professionals Club, who also teaches responsible tourism in an Austrian university. “And unlike foreign tourists, most Indians prefer to keep the air conditioning of the vehicle running throughout. This could affect the pristine locales, especially since many caravan parks have been envisaged near forest zones.”
Inspection constraints
He said the sensitivity of local people must be taken into account and lessons should be imbibed from the not-so-successful foray of the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) into caravans. “In Kerala, only officials in the rank of Joint RTO and above can inspect the caravans, which could result in tardy execution of rules. Also, the premium tariff could lead to operators opting for hop-on, hop-off service in which multiple groups of guests would rent the same caravan each day, leading to undesirable outcomes,” said Mr. Scaria, whose firm once owned a fleet of 55 vehicles, including four buses.
Houseboats’ experience
Yet another tourism stakeholder said caravans would definitely help revenue generation in far-flung areas. “But subsidies are being doled out to investors in this project at a time when relief is not forthcoming for other pandemic-affected tourism players. Moreover, lessons must be learnt from how unchecked proliferation of houseboats led to rampant pollution of backwaters,” he said.
‘The smaller, the better’
Jose Dominic, an avid votary of sustainable tourism and co-founder of CGH Earth brand of hotels, called for the need to popularise smaller, self-driven caravans. “Otherwise, drivers would have to be provided accommodation. I recently attended a destination wedding in Goa, where the hosts had readied a fleet of 50 rent-a-cars for the guests. GPS helps people reach any destination with ease. Smaller caravans will improve accessibility to remote areas. They are also unlikely to come into contact with low-lying overhead power lines.”
