Kerala Tourism has finally got into damage-control mode, alarmed at the damage suffered by Munnar, Fort Kochi, and Kumarakom due to crass commercialisation.
Top mandarins of Kerala Tourism spoke of how October will be decisive since whatever possible will be done to tidy the three prominent tourist hubs. “They were must-see destinations for discerning tourists till around 15 years ago. Corruption, mismanagement, and abject disregard to environmental and civic norms have resulted in some of them becoming dying destinations,” said Tourism Secretary V. Venu.
‘‘All this is happening despite do’s and dont’s clearly mentioned in our tourism master plan for these destinations. We also conducted studies on ‘carrying capacity’ of each destination. Civic agencies have turned a blind eye to the violation of norms by many tourism ventures here. Sadly, these ventures do not need any permit or licence from Kerala Tourism,’’ he said.
Stating that Kerala Tourism would fight against rule violations and carry out awareness campaigns, Mr. Venu blamed local bodies for ignoring such issues which destroyed destinations and threatened environment. “Our efforts to implement responsible tourism has not been successful due to lack of coordination of local bodies. This would result in tourists shunning such destinations,” he said.
Waste management
He said that many locales were suffering due to improper waste management, while heritage norms were being violated in destinations such as Fort Kochi.
Director of Kerala Tourism U.V. Jose too echoed similar concerns about the once pristine locales. “Kerala Tourism has collated an idea of how to tidy Fort Kochi and Kumarakom. Steps will be taken this month to improve destination management at these places.
The Fort Kochi Heritage Conservation Society has failed to live up to its expectations. It has to be reorganised so that it spearheads tourism activities and clamps down on rule violations. Kerala Tourism will also invest in garbage treatment here,” he said.
Mr. Jose said the locale would see better days under the Green Carpet initiative of Kerala Tourism. Destination managers would be appointed to ensure effective coordination of 84 destinations in the State.
Munnar, area of focus
Munnar will be our next area of focus and the clean-up task here was much larger. The recently-concluded Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) discussed the issue and tourism stakeholders from the region had agreed to give their suggestions in writing, Mr Jose said.
‘Civic agencies have turned a blind eye to the violation of norms by tourism ventures in these sites’