As the world observes the 2020 edition of the World Tourism
Day with the theme “Tourism and Rural Development”, Kerala – India’s
southwestern state known for its splendid backwaters, has already turned a role
model in making tourism a tool for development of its village and local
communities.

Thanks to the ‘Responsible Tourism Mission’ initiative which
it launched in October 2017 itself, Kerala could ensure local participation in its
tourism development activities. Projects like PEPPER’ (People’s Participation
for Planning and Empowerment through Responsible Tourism) helped in discovering
unexplored destinations rich with tourism potentials as farmers, Kudumbashree
workers, handicraft artisans, home-stay owners and tribal artists, all got
empowered socially and economically.

“A total of 48 new tourist destinations were identified and developed
under the initiative so far. Local residents too benefitted immensely as they were
able to find new employment opportunities and revenue sources. For instance, nearly
5500 people were so far trained in job-oriented skills such as manufacturing of
paper bags, cloth bags, organic farming and tourism-related services like tour
operators, guides and home cuisines,” said K Rupesh Kumar, state RT Mission
Co-ordinator.

Similarly, ‘Experiential tour packages’ opened a whole new
realm of opportunities for tourists to get a good look at the every day village
life, may it be the naive crafts or traditional artforms/culture. Far away from
the hustle bustle of city life, the rural land decked with tranquil backwaters,
green carpeted paddy fields, swaying coconut palms, small fishing hamlets and
unique artforms is an experience to cherish forever.

“As of now, we’re offering 140 Experiential tour packages
covering the nook and corner of the state. At least 850 families directly
benefit by the programme. In the last three years, 64, 800 foreign tourists and
24, 812 domestic tourists availed the package, providing local communities a revenue
around Rs 3.5 crore. The latest to include under the package was night life
activities.

The Kerala Tourism department also rolled out the ‘Experience
Ethnic Cuisine’ project, which envisages dishing out unique culinary traditions
of the state to woo foreign tourists. “As many as 2012 households across the 14
districts has registered under the programme. The households would welcome the
guests in the traditional way and serves delicious foods. We’ve taken several
measures to ensure the quality and safety of the dishes. We’ve implemented the
first phase of the project. The Covid-19 pandemic has affected all these
activities in between but now we’re resuming all of them in a phased manner,”
the official said.