ANLetter Volume 3 Issue 3-Jan 1995-EQUATIONS

8/7/2019 ANLetter Volume 3 Issue 3-Jan 1995-EQUATIONS

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Volume 3 Issue 3 lan 1995

For Private Circulation Only

A Time to ReJlectBy the time you receiae this copy of the ANLetter, some major issuesin the kind of actiaism that seaeral of us are inuolued in, wiII be in

for tating times. As the country is draum increasingly and notunexpectedly, into the aortex of free-market economics, a lot of thebasic freedoms are being incessantly eased away from the reach ofthe cunmon persan.

The process of 'Iiberalisation' is structurally such thnt it forcesmillisns of us to be bystanders of the caaalcade of progress. Whatbetter form of tightening the organising structures of society (tlmtit communes with its destiny 'standard of lioing'), than raising thebogey of disintegration, chaos and anarclty? A ionstant reference tothe exarnples of such dis-organising elernents is the basis ofcontaining dissent utithin the dominant discourse. Dissent which isbasis of a functional democra'cy is today seen as the road-block onthe path of progress.

Of course, the smnrter oies amongst us ill be better off, participatingin the process of the politico-scimtific ascendancy that is emergingnow. this participation is justified by rejecting dissent as a functionalrmlity in the process of eaoluing netoer ways of lfuing and being.

A more insidious process is that of creating a make belieae world ofthe'politically correct' leading to co-option. Take the case of theproaisions made by the Ministry of Enaironmcnt & Forestsregarding Enaironmental Impacts Assessment. Born out of aconcerted public exercise of instilling participation as the core aaluewas a regulatory body, the Enaironmmtal lmpacts AssessmentAgency (EIAA), which in consultation with a committee of non-

gwernmental organisations Taas to eaahrale projects - new,modifications/ expansion of existing ones. The amendment to thenotifications' states that the consultation with the committee ofNGOs wiII be at the discretion of the EIAA and that only thosepeople liaing around the the project site are eligible to participatein the assessmrnt process.

What is interesting to obserae is the assumptions that underlinethese sets of actions. There is a process of leading credence to thece4tralising process of creating a unitary cell with judgmental

pswers, which because it is supposed to be shared utith NGOsbecomes legitimate. There are no contradictions in the intunal logiwith which this process works. For, the primary assurnption is thatthe common person has no empowered subjectiaity. Thuefore thedecision of her/his future would haue to be determind by thispolito-scientific class and thut as the'libertarinn' ualues of this classbecome a threat to the oaerarching goal of 'Iiberalisation' wen therEresmtatiae participation is gtaen the go-W, whilerepresentatiaism is itself questionable.

The other serious issue thai this raises is thnt, it opens the debateof tlu 'insidu outsider' argummt through a new aaenue whcn istates thnt only people liaing around the project area haae accus tosuch informntion. Thueby, stating thnt public interest has narrowdefinitions and better still the determination of public interest wilreside in structures that haae themselaes dubious records of ensuringparticipatory processes. Meanwhile, a Constitution Bench of theSuprune Court is proposd to hear the case filed way back in 1982in which interalia, the ability of a strangu to initiate action beforethat Court in public interest unless that stranger has a direct intuest,has beefi raised.

Concunently, thue is the reasoning in the Ministry of Tourism thatthe ministries of tourism, culture and enaironment be merged tomake their functioning, especially promotion of tourism, moreffictiae and hurdle-free. And this so that these departments do notuiau the sqme isstres diffuently, leading to multiplicity ointupretations. The premise being thnt there is only one versionpossible that which supports the marlcet rationale.

In continuing to struggle for a political psychology that allows aplethora of possibilities, we haae to be carefitl about copying theimage of the structures that we are in dissonance with. A possibleopening in the midst of thue dark foreboding clouds is that therewould haue to be a renetaed aigour in working usith communitiesand be catq:gtic to their self-empowering strategies.

K.T .Sr,"Ltl'

?traa anz ap,huu to acfiadaze a44q ol t/re taeaZeta,(, eto f/a, eoeatofuA"r. ?ka4p eezddtaa afftzop:te:ateq atd 4zid eo a. eofrr' ol tlo aateneat /ao aa .dlotwrcatlot . 7Aoaaeo@. b t/z anficho at?p t44ae al t e azliou atd, aat


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luroSrOUernr-

I share with you some observations and questions on tourismf policy, its implementations, and tourism activists inL developing countries. I will use illustrations from Goa and I

want to know about Kerala.

There is considerable discrepanry between the Tourism policy ofthe Central Government and tourism arrival/departure behaviourin India. For one, out-bound tourism out numbers in-bound touristarrivals despite the policy'sobjective of discouraging theformerand encouraging the latter.

When it comes to in-bound tourism (the major concern of thisseminar), the policy's sole aim is to encourage the arrival of 'highspenders'so as to increase foreign exchange earnings. Here too, wefind amajor discrepancybetween policyand practicesome of whichI illustrate below

This policy is far from unique as it is shared by every othercountry of the world with the exception of Japan. What thepolicy demands, is 'niche' marketing. To my mind it is notpossible to market India to a niche without changing India'sglobal image in some way. The analogy that is sometimes evokedto explain such an exercise is corporate image managementstrategies where it might be proposed to refurbish old andrundown hotels, give them a new image and market the hotel to anupper market segment. The point is that global representations ofNations are constructed historically and politically and have to beunderstood through a semiotic where power and asymmehy arecritical. It is simplistic to use behavioural assumption toextrapolate experiences of renovating hotels to transformingimages of countries (even that of a niche) as some marketingpeople have proposed.

Besides the policy being based on problematic assumptions, thereare crucial discrepancies between poliry and implementation. Toillustrate, Govemment spending is aimed at infrastructuredevelopment and marketing support. Howeveq, most StateGovemments (Kerala maybe one of theexceptions) havenotshownmuch enthusiasm and much of the planned budget remains

unspent.lWhile the Central Government is concemed with eaming foreignexchange the State Governments have other prioritie. Highspenders who bring in the dollar do not generate employment andregional development, as much as other types of tourists.

Further, a number of factors influence the expenditJre of StateGovemments. The Tourism Department of Goa has organisedfestivals such as 'Carnival' or the recently concluded'International Food Festival' with financial assistance from theCentral Govemment. These festivals attract natives rather thantourists and even the tourists that do come are domestictourists. The various expenditures on infrastructure development

for tourism have to be incurred in keeping with localindustry. and

political pressures (such as a village having no connection withtourism in Coa gets its roads flood-lit because its MLA is associatedin the Tourism Department in some capacity). The three crorerupees received by the Goa Govemment for the exposition ofthe body of St. Francis Xavier is yet another illustrationof an even tthat is designed to attract natives and domestic tourists, thoughthe expenditure is borne in theinterestof attractingintemationaltourists. UIhile no studies quantifying such transfers are available,these cannot be seen as mere aberrations or deviances. Alinvestments are necessarily refracted through social and politicalfilters, deflecting from the implementation of stated policy.

It is therefore not sulprising that ever since the late eighties whenthe Centre has announced its policy of attracting high spenders,Goa has paradoxically seen an increase in the much more modestspending charter tourists while FIIs have remained constant(see Table). Notwithstanding the rhetoric of changing the market,Goa has followed the classical tourist area life cycle, and is tendingto peak with charter tourists.

International Tourist Arrivals in Goa: Distributed as Charterand Non-Charter

Foreign Charter Non-chartertourist arrivals tourist arrivals tourist arrivale

Year A B C=A-B1985{6 8&838 3,568 85,207

fK-87 7,03,444 4,40\ gg,Mg87{,8 86,479 5,419 81,060889 93,M3 9,705 83,33889-90 97,555 9,3't6 8&34090-91 91,982 1815 85,16791-92 96,U3 L7,102 79,74't

92-93 7,28,89 39,87t 88,581Source Tourism Minister Shri Pandurang D. Raut in the GoaLegislative Assembly on 31/3/7992

Quite incontrast to a rhetoric of intervention and change at the levelof poliry formation, expendifure and implementation ends up beingdriven by the industry or local pressures. It is tempting to we theabove interpretation to suspect the motives of Government butit is more instructive to understand the global positioning whichdetermines unattainable poliry objectives, and industry and localcontexts which channel investments in infrastructure. Thisparadox must be seen.rs reflecting on the one hand the inability ofIndia (or most of our fellow aspirants in the third world) to conhol

its global image(which

in turn determines the nature of tourist


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demand) or at the regional level to manipulate the tourist area lifecycle premised on a semiotic of consumption and difference in themodern world.

An aside: If newspaper reports are right, Kerala seems to aspire todo a Goa 2 in terms of tourism development and arrivals. Thereis an attempt to skip stages in the tourist area life cycle- avoidthe explorers and aim for the high spenders. I am not optimisticabout Kerala's efforts. I am afraid that the rather vigorousmarketing of 'God'sOwn Country' will make itsuspect in theeyes of dollar bearing angels. A deeper understanding of thesemiotic of tourist attractions is called for.

Thus far my comments have been within the tourism policyperspective.

A more radical critique has emerged from the tourism activisttled by the movement called the JGF (|agrut Goenkaranchi Fauz -Vigilant Goans Army.) and other grouPs. The initial resPonse oftourism activists highlighted the loss of traditional occupationsand cultural degradation brought on by the 'hippies' in the latesixties and seventies, etc. Gradually environmental concernsbegan to dominate the movement. During this period the JGFgained international recognition. As strategy the Government and

industry have responded by trying to discredit the movement.Howeveq, the industry and Govemment have had to be morecautious of their plans and violations of environmental regulations.So long as the movement was confined to the courts and the press,it amounted to a proxy battle in the name of the 'people'. Industryand government were cautious but their caution and their energieswere directed towards using loopholes in the law, delays by thecourts etc. to overcome the obstacles presented by the activists.

Over the last few years there has been a shift in tourismdevelopment and the movement.

1. The size of tourism projects have grown demanding larger Iandsfor projects such as golf courses, the ]apanese village etc.

2. The projects have therefore had to shift from the traditionaltouriit destination area in Central Goa (Old Conquests)3 to theNew Conquest.

3. The Government has taken upon itself the task of acquiring landand handing it over to the Promoters.

The demand for land of these projects comes into conflict withprospective plans that villagers have for the use of this la.nda andin North Goa the new tourism projects are likely to up_set the edstingtourist arrivals which are integrated in the villages.5

The movement has therefore been able to,

1. mobilise the villages and at the momenthas preempted thedevelopments of these projects and

2. articulate their objections through the local democraticinstitutions such as the Panchayat. (\A/hile some activists mightbe critical of the legitimacy the Panchayats enjoy, this is not trueof the wider society. Movements have been more successfulwhere they are able to articulate their demands throughlegitima te institutions).

The movement is also aware that once tourists arrive theygenerate options, and expectations among the people. Hence theirsuggestion "The people must be equipped to block the starting of adestructive project at its concePtion stage".b

The JGF has pioneered the demand for a reconsideration of thepropagation of softer forms of tourism from within theIntemational Movement for altemate forms of tourism. The JGFhighlights neo-colonialism and class as the causes for thepresent 'destructive' tourism policy in the third world. While thelink between global structures and tourism policy and practiceis essential, I am not sure of how the fight against tourism couldlead to the dismantlingof the present model of development - thecore of the JGF agenda. More specifically in the case of Goa, whereinfrastructure developments have led to rising expectations, I amunsure if a groject could always be blocked, even in its conceptionstage itself./

Another issue that has engaged the tourism activists is the'Representation of Goa'. The activists have demanded that therepresentation of Goa as'westernised' is a distorted imagepresented by the Government. While the activists have protestedthe commodification of a distorted image of Goa, there is anintermittent debate in Goa as to what constitutes Goan Culture.s

This representation of Goa to the outside has drawn flak from avariety of opposing views. On the one hand Hindu revivalist haveargued that the westernised image is not the true image of Goabut merely an aberration of colonialism. On the other hand, the

Catholic community (identified with the westernised image) hasbeen upset with the mis-represented and the distortion of theirculture being used to attract tourists. Tourism throws arepresentation of culture and identity into the global market ofsigns. What follows inevitably is a repositioning of identity withinthe global community. The contests over identity are bound toincrease and tourism is a facilitator for such contests. The difficultywith retrievals of images of the past toconstituteidentityisthatsuch revivals are themselves colonial constructions9 posing thequestion of how are we to engage with the other in our past?

In the case of Goa, the local administration has tried to be a weebit sensitive in its own activities not out of conviction but due topressures. It washes its hand of the responsibility of policing hoteland tour operators. The Central Govemment refuses to takecognizance of these areas of conflict.

The academic study of impacts ignore crucial and intangiblequestions such as those of culture and representation that aregenerated with the arrival of tourism. These indirectconsequences of tourism can be critical within the region not onlyfor culture but also for demographic and socialtransformation. In Goa, for instance, a number of residentialcolonies have been coming up for NRIs. These colonies which aredesigned as investment opportunities, for NRIs to hedge againstinflation, have long term effects on land use and costs which aredetrimental to native interests economically and politically.

Strucfural Adjustments currently underway are directed towardsconsolidating the market. I have argued that the market hasalways been driving tourism in India notwithstanding the rhetoricabout atLracting particular market segments. The trend willtherefore continue with less rhetoric about market intervention.I,1/hat will change is the social and economic context in whichtourism arrives.

While the demandsupply, growth and efficiency increase, themiddle class, particularly the fixed income middle class, such asacademics and government officials will find their relativeeconomic positions failing- and many of us are beginning to feelthe pinch (e.9. life saving drugs). On the other hand a vigorous


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consumer culture will ensure that the middle class aspirations willcontinue to escalate. Chasing our ever increasing dreams will beour constant preoccupation. The category of concem is those whofall below the demand curve. What is going to be the fate of thesepeople?

The poliry of liberalisation moves on and as of now there is littlein sight to suggest any prospects for its dismantling. Thepossibility for an altemative model of development seems far.This makes the task of a critique of the established mode of critiqueeven more urgent and there is little forthcoming on that front too.

I therefore find myself in a situation of ambivalence where onthe one hand I am uncomfortable with the onrushing changes andon the other I can see no way out. The academia itself has longabandoned its illusions of neutrality in understanding society.Much as I enjoy the exploration, I am haunted by the line fromMarx's "...the point, however, is to change it." I

Department of Sociology, Goa University.Paper presented at the National Seminar on Tourism, Development,Globalisation and Justice held on 3-4 December 1994 at Kochi, Kerala,organised by EQUATIONS and School of Social Sciences, M.G. University,Kottayam.

1. Sunil Jain "lburism Policy Snags', Economic Times, June 30, 1994 asabstracted in Docrrmentation Update, Vo1.2 No.4-4EQUATIONS

2. Official data shows that both Goa and Kerala receive about one lakhinternational arrivals each. However, it is important to note that Goacollects its data from retums submitted by Hotels leading tounder-reporting (particularly foreign nationals of Goan origins who staywith friends and relative.) Kerala, I prcsume, uses the more standardWTO recomrnended practice of recording arrivals at thepointof entryand departure. As the operational definitions are different this couldresult in Goa's figures being unreported as compared to Kerala. I mightrequire to be corrected on this point, if my information is wrong.

3. The Old conquests have had over four centuries of colonial rule andenjoy a higher population density, better infrastructure, higher per

capita income and other development indicators, than the newconquests, which have experienced only two centuries of colonial ruleand occupy a larger part of the land area of Goa.

4. In bothKeralaandGoa agriculturallabour costs arehigh. Howeverin Goa -agriculture is seen as unremunerative and the-peasants areSteadily loosing interest in it. This is rather different from Kerala. Whatcould be the reason?

5. There are also other forms of conflict between the early FIT tourism andcharter tourism. For instance the charter tourist prefer to travel bvcoach (bus). This,leaves the many taxi operaiors that have beenlicensed during the period of growth of the FITs idle and they haveprotested the use of coaches by Hotels.

5. Roland Martins, 'Peoples Action on Tourism in Goa - A FuturePerspective' paper presented at the consultation: RethinkingTourism,.Bah.L994.

7. Some of the interior villages lying outside the tourism belt havedemanded that the govemment should promote them as touristdestinations. These villages are obviously looking for the opportunitiesthat tourism has opened out in the villages of the tourist belt.

8. SuchaquestioningontheidentityofGoabythe people of the state isoften seen as unique to Goa. At a Seminar on'Understanding Goan' Culture' a partibipant from Kerala remarked that she could not imaginea question in Kerala as regards to'what is Kerala culfure'. This questionof identity within Goa is sometimes understood merely as aconsequence of the vigorous policy of conversion of the Portuguese andits fall out in terms of a section in the population seen as having a distinctidentity. I am of the opinion that the question is also because Goa joinedthe Union much after the linguistic division of States and hence theissue of dominance of one culture/language over the othersub-regional cultures that have come up in some State only recently hasand will continue to be debated in Goa from tirne to.time.

9. See Romila Thapar, Cultural Tiasaction and Early India: Tradition andPatronage, Oxford University Press, Delhi (1987) foor h detaileddiscussiorl on the colonial origins of the concept of. a Hindu Indanculture.

ourists arc,by definitiory not ieen as people who embodysocial relations. Their positions and roles as wider agentsof social change are ignored. There is, therefore a

tendency to view tourism as an unproblematic and apoliticalactivity that is beyond a political critique. It is for this reason thatGovemments and inter-governmental agencies concerned withtourism have generally not been questioned on who makesTourism policies and what the thrust of such policies should be.

The World Tourism Organisation (VVIO) sees the role of policy asthe means by which Government motivations can be balancedwith private sector motivations. This is primarily because itviews Tourism as one of the few development options for thirdworld countries, and a means of participation in the Intemationaltrade in services, which form 70"h of GDP in the industrialisedcountries and about 50% in many developing countries. Sirnilarpercentages are observed with regard to the share of the services

sector in overall employment. Similarly, Tourism services accountfot 7/3rd of totil exports of commercial services. Consumptionabroad is the most important mode of the delivery of Tourismservices, and it accounts for the greatest volume of trade.

WTO therefore reconunends that all countries, to realise the valueof the process of liberalisatiory should have a Tourism poliry,which defines the means by which the objectives of Tourismdevelopment are to be realised. To be'meaningfu l' these objectivesshould be'fixed'in a tourism master or developmentplan whichhas the sanction of the Government.

In this view, thecentralobjectiveof Tourism poliry is toachievebalanced and competitive tourism development, with the partialobjectives of job creatiorL overcome regional backwardness,conservation of nafure and heritage etc. For competitivedevelopment the following factors are important.


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o The Value Added Effech Through incorporation of local inputs,to retain increasing proportions of value added income.

r Transfer of Technology Effect lncreasing know how andtechnology incorporated in these services.

o Positive Foreign Exchange Effect To propitiate in{lows offoreign investment and simultaneously reduce the importcontent of tourism services.

r Enhancing The Employment Effech By increasing theproportion of local workers to foreign staff.

Experience however shows that as the tourism industry draws ona country's infrastructure, the more developed and complex the restof the economy, the greater are the economic gains and the powerof the econo.my to retain the value added in the country.

To ensure a competitive Tourism growth, Tourism professionals andofficials are tobe encouraged to takeanactive part in the decisionmaking process.

For achieving rapid growth five key areas have been identified.

1. Socio-demographic factors of demand2. Technology development and changes3. Current trends in consumer behaviour4. Strategy of sustainable development5. Development and improvement of human resources

These factors will determine international Tourism flows in thenext decade.

We have to critique the existing thrust of our Tourism Policy andlocate alternatives within the reality of these factors. We have to seehow these issues are going to increase the unequal trade in globaltourism.

South Asian destinations have a marginal share of theInternationalTourism marketandyetthe60'svision of the economic

and developmental benefits and foreign exchange eamings fromTourism continue to dominate the developmental debate. Tourismis penetrating deeper into our political and economic thinking andour culfure.

In reply to a recent question in the Indian Parliament, the Ministerfor Civil Aviation and Tourism stated that in pursuance of theNational Action Plan for Tourism (NAPT), an integrated plan toattract 5 million tourists by 1996-97 will require an investment ofRs 39,000 crores. This plan is being pushed despite the fact thattourist arrivals increased by 2.8% and rupee earnings by 14.6%.These figures hide the fact that India's global share dropped from0.72%in 1988 to 0.46oh and receipts to 0.51%.

The Department of Tourism has accepted the U.5. worldview thatIndia is unsafe and has identified poor conununications and badmanagement as the reasons for our poor performance. We have noempowered subjectivity to deterrnine the magnitude of Tourismflows and we accept the representative image of India that ispromoted abroad.

A clear example of this attitude is reflected in recent data releasedby the Department of Tourism (DOT), Government of Lrdia. TravelAgents aciounted for 14.6Yo of arrivals, the DOT information officesabroad accounted for 12"/",Intemational carriers brought in7.4"h,the national carrier brought in 7.77" and Hotel chains brought in4.77o, Charters brought in 50%. 80'/" of the tourists were ethnicIndians. .

If we look at the performance of foreign airlines, we see anotherillustration, these airlines have mopped up revenues of Rs 3524crores of which Rs 1.940 crore, have been repatriated (55%)Lufthansa has repatriated66.48% of its profits whilst, committingRs 30 core to an India Tourism Development Fund, to be takenfrom the amount to be paid in royalty to Air India.

Meanwhile Tour operators and Hoteliers have been havingslanging match over dual tariffs whidr hoteliers introduced tocover losses due to devaluation of the rupee. Operators view thedual tariff as discriminatory to tourists as well as reducing theiprofits in a price sensitive market. Hoteliers hold that rates offeredto the travel trade are negotiated and therefore lower than thoseoffered to Indians who have a lower earning capacity than thetourists. The dual tariff system has saved us Rs 587.3 crore inforeign exchange. The Ministry is unable to settle this dispute fothe past year.

Similarly, while the DOT issues circulars to airlines to discounttickets, the Ministry issues counter arguments to protect AiIndia's traffic. Since.the bottom line is dollar eamings, every efforis being made to increase the number of arrivals, including thesetting up of unattainable targets, without establishing thattransfer of wealth is taking place from the rich to the poor.

The NAPT is also pushing Special Tourism Areas as integrateddevelopment. The recent referendum in the popular media onBekal in Kerala, and the debate in the State Assembly onPuri-Konark are an indicator of the disaster that such developmentsare going to create. The Puri-Konark marine drive accommodates2,227 acres of forest land, of which 576.12 acres have beendereserved to build 1,100 rooms, a golf course, housing, anartisan village, bus terminal and market complex. At Bekal 400acres of coconut growing land are to be acquired for the touristcomplex, details of which are a closely guarded secret.

On the HRD front &,00049,000 trained professionals are requiredwithin two years. Since hotel management schools are in theplanning stage, with India signing GATS, it's anybody's guesswhere the staffwill come from.

Tourism is also causing landscape and habitat changes. There ithe two year old controversy on the displacement of severalthousand Gujjars from the Rajaji National Park in Uttar Pradesh.NGO's led by the VWVF have justified the removal of Gujjars whilsenvironmentalists have suggested a combined managementsystem. Whilst the debate continues the Gujjars are beingterrorised in a housing colony with 512 houses at Pauri.

Tourism Poliry in India, which is conceived and pushed from thtop, is always justified and legitimised by the yardstick ocustomer satisfaction.

In the "free market" economies few needs are satisfied locallyProducts originate in communities that cannot consume them. Thdetermining factor is access to money and the empowermentgives to the consumer. Tourism is an advanced form oconsumerism that'depends on the distant, unknown "other" tsupply it. It compels people who have unknown names andidentities to "acrifice the means to meet their daily needs so thathe affluent tourists can effortlessly reach out for whatever theydesire - at their price.

An altemate tourism poliry mustreject thisvalue system. Itmusstop being consumer centered. Its focus should be on that form o


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a service like any other. In fact, there is a great deal tobe said aboutexposure to different cultures," she says.

It is precisely thisminglingof cultures, however, that hascausedtrouble. "Two years ago, you couldn't open an oppositionnewspaper without reading that tourism was destroying the fabricof Egyptian society, and particularly Islamic values," says el-Sayyid. "What do you think set the extremist groups off?"

El-Safty counters with the fact that this is an extremist viewpointthat most people disagree with. "These people come, they see the

,:.:.,'lil,, " , : ..: :1. ::: ::.:.... : :::: r :.....

The WTO has predicted that the total volume of tourist trafficby 2000 A.D will be 650 million with the figure going up to937 billion by 2010. East Asia and the Pacific regions areexpected to receive one-fifth of total arrivals by 2010,implying a market share of 30 percent. In comparison, thenumber of tourist arrivals in South Asia has been projected as6 million by 2000 and 10 million by 2010.

- Tourism the Year of the Plague, The Pioneer, 14 Oct 1994.

Q. What are the major projects on which you are working atpresent?

A. We are talking to the Government of Kerala to develop amajor project which will be one of the biggest tourism projectever undertaken in the country. The project, currently in theplanning stage is called Bakel project and is situated at theKasargod district. The Kerala Government is acquiring about

2,000 acres of land to construct a mega-tourist village. Thisvillage will have all the amenities which a touristwill require.Apart from this, we are talking to the state government ofUttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh topromote certain tourist spots.

Mr R Subramanian, Managing Director,Tourism FinanceCorporation of India Ltd (TFCI). Interview by Dev Chatterjee,Fanancial Express, New Delhi 6 Nov. 1994

country, they leave. Tha t's it. People should simply be careful whafacets of alien cultures they choose to adopt."

But the selectiveness of the average citizen is not the government'shighest priority. The staggering loss of foreign currency duringtime of economic change is. Tourism might be a dangerousindustry to rest one's hopes on, but the Egyptian governmerrt hasno intention of giving up on it.

The author is an editor and senior writer for the Cairo-based Egypt TodayThis article is reproducecl from Bassiness lndia,October 7U23,1994.

Aa"a, Ak*aadzn - /4 ?,u/qteAnna Vareed Alexande4 a rnernber of Equations' GeneralBody, passed (rway on Christmas Day, 1994, following a briefillness. She leaues beh.ind her husband, Dr M P Alexande4son Philip and daughter Mary Ann.

Her parents were both doctors in Penang (former Malnya),where Anna was born in 1934. Anna's early education,duing the Wa4 was largely at home. The family moued toIndia in 1947, where she obtained a degree in Home Sciencesfrom Madras.

She was manicd in 1959, and the sdme year trauelled withher husband to the USA for furtlrcr studies. An na graduatedwith a M Sc from Ohio State Uniuersity, and they returnedto India in 1963. Anna was a lecturer in Home Scie.nces forsonle ye&rs in a Coimbatore college, before mouing toBangalore in 1969.

An Orthorlox Syrian Christian, Anna had strong Protestantconuictions, and her eueryday life reflected her committmentto strengthening thc role of women in Ch.urch and society.Since 1983, slte helped teach courses on fem.inist theology atthe United Theological College, Bangalore. Along with. StellaFaria and Jessie Tellis-Nayah, she founded WINA Momen'sInstitute for New Awahening), and co-edited'The EmcrgingChristian Wornan'in. 1984, the first such effort in India.I met Anna in July 1987 at a worhshop on writing HumanRights. We discouered u)e were neighbours, and our familiesbecarne friends. Soon aftet; Anna accepted an inuitation tobecome a rnember of Equations, and she serued as Secretarytill 1992.Gentle and unassuming in her ways, Anna displayed a rareand, genuine sensitiuity to the reality of men and womenworhing together. During a crucial transition phase atEquatians, she wa.s inuolued in many organisational issues,and at each point she brought her gifts ofcare, ruurturing andtrust in people. Seueral times, when things got eomplex,

contentious and. rarefied, Anna's directness and seemingsimplicity were truly examples of the compassion of herwisdom..

Anna will be rnissed deeply by all of us, and we share withher family their loss and grief at her unexpected passing. Ican po.y no better tribute to her mnmnry than to conclude byquoting from a letter the staff of Equations wrote to Anna'sfamily upon the news of her death: Although we shall greatlymiss her gentle, gracious presence, she leaues behind a legaqtthat will be cherished. May Anna's ffi and gifts to all of uslight our path to the future.

Paul Gonsaloes


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^ a.Illpaiti- IN TIIE NAME OFzooLoGICA,r PARK - TOURTSM,I}IND GRAB

AND ATROCITIES

C R BIJOY

n June 5, 1,994 a protest rally against the CoimbatoreZoological Park (CZP) was held adjacent to theKodungaraipallam (river) that divides the homeland of

Irula - thesecond major Adivasi community in Southlndia,betweenCoimbatore and Palakkad districts'of Tamilnadu and Kerala statesrespectively. Under the overcast sky and in the desolate valley of theAnaikatti Hills when the informed minority celebrated the WorldEnvironment Day, these Adivasis demanded action against the CZPand others for alleged crimes against Adivasis in the name ofenvironment and wild life.

The assault of 8 year old Adivasi girl 'Pappa' for pulling out themarker flag planted by the Survey department, the illegaldemolition and destruction of the houses of Vettai and Maruthan in1991 when they refused to give up their landstoCZP, the assault ofPanikkan, detention and threat meted out to Boddan, Ramaswamy,Rangaswamy and Muthuswamy - the list continues. They weredemanding the retum of their lands which they say were takenaway from them fraudulently. They condemned the Govemmentfor coming down to the wishes of CZP.

Coimbatore Zoological Park established in 1986 as anon-goverrunent organisation by industrialists, financiers andhoteliers intends to establish the first ever private Zoological parkin Thuvaipathy village, 3kms from Anaikatti in Coimbatore. Fallingwithin the 5600 Square kilometer Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR),the Zoological park is projected to be an interpretation Centre forNBR in about 250 acres of the most modem kind where primarilythe flora and fauna of the NBR would be recovered and introduced.Situated 25 kms away from Coimbatore city, this park is to be builtup as a tourist Centre with tours conducted to the wild lifesanctuaries and National Parks whidr cover a substantial variety ofecosystems in the peninsula.

With an outlay of Rs.10 crores of which Rs 3 crores have alreadybeen raised from industrial and business houses, CZP has appliedfor a "planning grant" of US $ 30,000 from the Biodiversityprograrune of the World Wide Fund for Nafure and have registereda proposal of US $ 3,59,750 with the world Community Services ofthe Rotary International to purchase equipments and other goods.

Headed by G.Rangaswamy, the secretary of CZP (also theManaging Director of Pioneer Mlls), this project has another NGO- Zoo Outreach Organisation (Z.O.O) as its associate with itssecretary Ms Sally Walker as the Project Coordinator. InterestinglyG.Rangaswamy of CZP b also the President of Z.O.O and one findsa large number of the erecutive members of CZP also in theManaging Committee of Z.O.O excePt that Z.O.O has a number ofenvironmentalists, veterinarians, foresters etc actively involved. Ineffect it seems clear that CZP and Z.O.O are controlled by the same

set of people withCZP being more closely held.

Z.O.O has managed to establish itself giving itself a cover as acommitted NGOfor thewelfareof wildlife especially inZoos. Z.O.Ois one of the 12 organisations through which the ntitirn Airways'Assisting Nature Conservation programme operates with itsprinrary concern being captive breeding and tourism. Z.O.O alsoconvened the first regional branch of the Captive Breeding SpecialistGroup (CBSG) of the Lrtemational Union for the Conservation ofNature. CBSG-India operating through Z.O.O and in collaborationwith Z.O.O have been holding a large number of Intemationalworkshops in different parts of the country. The media earlier thisyear (Indian Express, January 3,\994 titled "Gene Pool in Peril" byUsha Rai) had exposed that these workshops have been used as acover where foreign scientists are "believed to have flown out withblood and semen samples of lions, clouded leopards and lion tailedMacaques in test tubes, submerged in "Nilrogen containers".Incidentally Ms Sally Walker had applied for permission to take outthe blood and semen samples of these very species which wasrejected by the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Z.O.O has managed to become a member of the Animal WelfareBoard of India withMs SallyWalkerbecoming also a memberof theCentral Zoo Authority of the Ministry of Environment and Forests,

created under the Wild Life Protection Act 1972 to oversee thefunctioning of zoos in the country which attracts sizable number oftourists. With such an elaborate cloak they have been able todemonstrate their clout with the politico-administrative machineryand so far has managed to avoid any action against them for theallegations made by the people, specially the Adivasis.

Wildlife from the tropical region seldom service in the zoos in thewest for long because of changed environment and weatherconditions. These zoos are in constant demand of replacements.Global trade in wild life is moreover banned. Clandestineoperations to smuggle wild life illegally however continues. Quiteoften the laws are by-passed because of loopholes in the laws. Theacquisition of wild life by a foreigner is prohibited in India but ispermissible to a resident. Quite often the residentgets the wildlifeand lends it to foreign zoos. The profit margin is enormous. Iorexample, an elephant calf costing Rs.50,000/- earns about Rs.l"7lakhs in the West. Another problem $'ith the wildlife of tropicalregion in the zoos of the West is that the chances of theirreproduction is very slender. Consequently, semen and bloodsamples to test for diseases fetches a huge price. Environmentalistsand conservationists fear that with ecotourism and wild life tourismbecoming a rage with tourists the genetic stock of third world issubject to ruthless plunder. The setting up of the zoological park byCZP has raised the specter of threat to wild life on the one hand tosustain wild life tourism through zoos in the West as well as therapidspread of wildlife tourism inlndia withits disastrous fall outshere.


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Already over 6,00,000 people of which 5,00,000 Adivasis(indigenous people) are displaced by 421 sanctuaries and 75national parks from amongst the 135 lakh adivasis who are affectedin the name of conservation and protected areas. Tourism projectsin and around these areas are further displacing or alienating thesepeople.

The CZP has already "purchased" 55 acres of land mostly from theAdivasis where the Adivasis allege the use of coercion andfraudulentmeans. The Peoples Union for Civil Liberties, Tamilnaducarried out a fact finding mission in early August 1994 andconfirmed the allegations (their report is yet to be released). Inaddition, CZP has requested the transfer of government lands,mostly enjoyed by Adivasis for decades measuring around 160acres. In addition to this the Collector of Coimbatore announced in1993 that 400 acres of land of which 100 acres belong legally to theAdivasis and rest held by the government would be acquired by thegovernment and handed over to the CZP. All these add up to over600 acres. Once established and with the development of organisedtourism (with the Zoological Park as the operational cenhe), thespin-off effect that it will cause by bringing in peripheral intereststo the area would be that, more lands of the marginalised will belost along with the destruction of the local economy.

The project is shrouded in mystery as attempts by public interestgroups to get the details of the project have failed under the pleathat the details are yet to be worked out. The manner in which CZPhas been grabbing land and the use of money and muscle powerfurther confirms the suspicion that the intentions of CZP are evil.There have been attempts to co-opt or suPPress opposition to theirproject. It is feared that very soon the 500 odd Adivasis ofThuvaipathy would be eased out of the place. The attempts of CZP

to couch their project with environment, biodiversity conservation,tribal development etc., in the face of stiff opposition by the peopledoes not dazzle at least those who have faced the wrath of CZP. Ia desperate attempt to stifle the local opposition, CZP has beenliterally doling out money to all and sundry in the village in tens othousands hoping that such huge amounts wouid shut the mouthsof the victims to suppress the truth from coming out.

FIAN, an international Human Rights organisation has initiated aninternational campaign against the CZP for its human rights

violations in August 1994. A number of organisations in the Wesconnected mostly with zoos and others like the prestigious IUCNare being mobilized by Ms Sally Walker for CZP to counterallegations against CZP. I

The author is involved in the Human Rights issues linked to that of theAdivasisinSouthlndia.Historicaldetails ofthisissueisavarlableinTottrismAltemai,tiaes Exchange Issue 3, March 1993, ask EQUATIONS.

carnpai

RI-RI TSOMORIRI !SHUBHENDU KAUSHIK

o, Kai and I went on a trek this summer, from Spiti valleyin Himachal Pradesh to Tsomoriri lake in Ladak.Tsomoriri is a large and exquisitely beautifirl

high-altitude lake in the Rupshu plains of Ladak, very close to theimaginary line that separates a concept called'India'from anotherconcept called 'Tibet'. I will not try to describe the beauty of thelake and its surrounds, not only because it is quite beyonddescription, but also because that is not the main purpose of this

article.

It was a long and hard trek. We crossed the 18,000 feet highParang la, walked along the Pare Chu river from its source to nearthe point where it unconcernedly flows across the imaginary lineinto Tibet, and then walked spellbound for an entire day along thewestem shore of this rather long lake. Near the northern end ofthe lake, we finally reached the roadhead village called Korzok, thefirst human settlement we had come across in seven days ofhekking.

The difficulty of the trek had weakened our bodies, while thesurrealistic beauty of the terrain as we approadred the lake hadbegun to disarm us of our minds, so that the spell that this

magical lake cast on us as we walked along its shore was all themore powerful.

This spell turned out tobe short-lived, though. The moming aftewe reached, as we lounged around in the meadow below Korzokwhich serves as a lakeside camping ground, I felt like weeping.'This place', I exclaimed touthoevef wouldcarc to hear,'is goingto the dogs in front of our very eyes!' Here was Tsomoriri in its firs

sedson of tourism since innerline restrictions for visitors wererelaxed last autumn, and rape was on.

Maruti Gypsys and jeeps all over, tents, tourists and garbage.This meadow, where marmots might earlier have frolickedundisturbed, fattening up for their long winters of hibernation, hadnow been invaded and taken over by a pest-species called'people', and tumed into a picnic spot, camping ground, parkinglot and. garbage dump, all rolled into one. The marmots were toldto go dig their burrows somewhere else.

This same meadow, wide, flat and grassy, was clearly a good placeto drive around in, somewhat like the India Gate lawns, and isharp contrast to the suspension-testing dirt road that got you here


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_ a,Illpai17- -

from Leh. One gypsy could be seen towing another one round andround at high speed, its engine roaring, apparently for the sheerexhilaration of driving around a high-altitude meadow on theshores of a map;ical lake in a wild, middle-of-nowhere valley, butactually in an effort to get the second one started. Maybe theyshould set up a service centre in one corner of this meadow. And alakeside petrol pump. And...

'There aren't too many vehicles here today,' commented the driverof one of the seven or eight vehicles parked there, 'probablybecause it hasbeenrainingiheselasttwodays. A few daysback,I counted 25 gypsys here, and a number of chartered buses havealso been coming of late.'

The picture that hi t us when we reached Korzok was quite contraryto what we had imagined it to be, and to what it had in fact beenuntil this summer. Mo had been fortunate enough, through armycontacts, to havebeentotheiaketwosummers ago. At thattime,he had to hunt for two days just to find a driver in Leh who knewthe way to Korzok. He had, on that visit, found Korzok to be 'oneof the most primitive experiences of my life'.

Many days later, still numbed bythe shock of

the'carbage'that we

had seen at Tsomoriri, I tried to sum up the situation with theselines :

Droaes of peopleDriae down

To Tsomoriri,And drizte back.

Basho must have had better things to compose haiku on in hisdays. But these are not his days. Nor, for that matter, am I Basho.

We had exhausted all our fbod on the trek, so we sent out not-so-subtle feelers among the campers in the meadow with as much self

-respect as was possible to muster in such a situation. Seeing ourhungry faces, tired eyes and badly sunburnt noses, a group of Britishtourists decided that a good deed would be a nice way to concludesuch a nice picnic, and invited us over for breakfast. This group,we found, consisted of four tourists who had driven dor,r'n fromLeh in just as many taxis, so the breakfast invitation soon gotextendedinto an offer todriveusoutof Korzok. Thiswas justwhatwe needed, and we were delighted.

You see - treat this as a confession - we had originally planned tomeet up with some friends who would drive down from Delhi intheir Tata Sierra, well stocked with wine,beer and good food, andwere therefore really disappointed to find that they hadapparently not made it.

One car less to the carnage is how I look at it now, but theundeniable fact is that dreaming about that car and the goodies onit did actually sustain us during the last few days of the trek, andthat made us, in a way accomplices in the ongoing rape. Whichmade me really wonder, for weren't we ordinary, well- meaninghuman beings, who would just as much enjoy a 'picnic' in an exoticsetting as anyone else would? Were we, then, any different fromthe tourists whom I was looking at with murder in my eyes? Orwas there, perhaps, such a thing as being innocent accomplices torape?

These questions need to be asked, if only to try and figure outwhom to point fingers at, and whetl-rer. We might be able tounderstand the real problem better, I now feel, and thus be closerto real solutions, if we only stopped pointing fingers at 'people',that is all of us, and looked instead at why we do what we do - thecircumstances behind our actions, and the underlying patterns. Wewould still remain responsible for our action, but not blarneworthy.And there is a crucial difference between the two.

Back in the meadow, the guides, cooks, drivers and intelligence-agents-in-disguise who had accompanied the Britishers were busywinding up camp as we had our breakfast. The last step in thisritual tumed out to be garbage picking. The Britishers joined in a

token sort of way and, after greedily gobbling down a secondhelping of their cornflakes, so did we - in a token sort of rvay, sinceit wasn't our garbage, after all. Satisfied with their hurriedcleanup, they walked off with the trash they had collected, andmade a pile a little distance away.

It is funny how people are always in a hurry when they 'vvind ul'rcamp, for one legitimate reason or another, so that when they dotheir token cleanups, their faces and gestures always seem to besaying, we would have done better if we had the time, but sincewe don't, this will have to do for now - innocent, well-meaningaccomplices to rape.

As Kai and I lingered at the campsite-that-was, picking upwhatever we could of what was left behind, and Mo chatted withthe retired British colonel ancl his wife who were oLrr chief savioursfor the day, we saw a hasty fire being made of the pile of rubbish.Almost immediately, they started preparing to get into their carsand drive off.

I walked over to the fire and said, trying hard not to shout, 'Hey,this lust won't dol' Some of them came back to the fire, a trifleirritated, while the others looked on'vvitir ill-concealed impatience,looking at watches and muttering and shaking their heads. Thesmoothness of their ritual had been somewhat disrupted.

'This tin foil won't bum,' I said, sifting through the half burntremains of the already dying fire, 'and this can won't, either.Plastic shouldn't have been burnt in any case.' Kai joined me atthe fire with the collection he had made, while Mo looked on withan eloquent'don't stir up trouble, boy' expression on his face. 'lnfact,' continued my sermon, 'you should have carried every singlebit of garbage back to Leh, and thought about burning or whateveroui there. But you don't have a decent disposal system in Leh,either, do you?'

'Hurry up, guys!' shoutecl the stout colonel, standing ready to getinto his vehicle, 'We've got a long way to go today..'

And so they had, I must admit, but....10


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KMR. What is the lanil area of the project?iWtS. We are yet to prepare the Master Plan. So we have notyet decided the total area of the proposed project. But it willrequire a minimum of 1000 acres.

KMR. Is the project to be impler4enteil in a phaseil mannq?Yes, naturally. Because such a big plan can be implemented onlyin a phased manner. But we will do it as early as possible. Thedetails can be designed after some time only.

KMR. How is the lanil to be acquired?l\ilI4S. The necessary land for the project will be acquired by theBekal Development Authority and then it will be sold to nationaland intemational ftusiness) groups. The profit arising from suchsales will be used for infrastructural development.

KIVIR. Is there sufficient gouernmmt lanil or shoulil some prittatelanilbe acquited?IWIS. Some private land will have to be acquired. But the point isthat we don't want tobring tourism by evicting all the local peoplefrom their places. Actually, we want to bring more benefits to thelocal people than anybody else. Especially in sensitive areas, wherethere is high density of population, we will make them part of

tourism. We will help them to change their profession by whichthey can avail the economies of tourism to a great extent.

KMR. Hout many p eople utill b e ezticteil by the proj ect? Are thereany st at is tics azt ail ab le ?

IWIS. Naturally, some eviction will be necessary. We can $ive theexact number onlyafterfinalising themaster plan. But theeffortis to do it by displacing the minimum number of households. Itis sure that they will not be evicted without any rehabilitation.

KMR. What is the total financial outlay of the project?iV\4S. The total capital outlay can be fixed only after finalising thePlan. We have to see what amount is required to rehabilitate people,

to construct the airport, roads etc. And all this money willbe madeavailable by selling the land.

timn. ruo- much money zaill b e contribute il by the goo emment.for thisproject?/r/lts. See, the Bekal Development Authority, which is agovernment agency is implementing the project. They will sell theland and get the money

KMR. What ate the economic bmefits anticip ated ltom the project,both direct and indirect?lVt4S. The main benefit is the inflow of foreign exchange. By theend of the year 2010, we propose to build atleast 6000 hotel rooms

of international standards. There will be a variety of indirectbenefits also. There will be a lot of employment opportunities.Providing 6000 rooms means the arrival of at least an equal numberof tourists who will need a number of services like transportation,personal services etc.

KMR, Has a cost-benefit analysis been maile?i\&fS. No, not yet.

KMR. What are the inlrastructural facilities moisaged to beprcduceil?IVI4S. An international airport is planned in the area besidesapproach roads and other transport facilities. The existing can beimproved too.

KMR. What are the prooisions for sufficicnt ztater anil electricitysupply?

A&1S. More water treatment plants will be established. It isexpected that the necessary electric power would be availablefrom the new thermal plant to be set up there.

KMR. What is the a nploymmt potmtial of the prc ject?

AIMS. A well equipped township is coming up with more hotels,hospitalqschools, recreational facilities all of which provide a lot of

employment opportunities.

KMR. Ate thre enploytment prcspects for the local people i.e. theunskill ed, under edu cat e d on es ?

IWIS. We areplanning toupdate thestandardsof living.by thegeneral development of the area. There are.also plan$ to set upvocational training centres in the area. The local arts will bepreserved and promoted.

KMR, What are the tourist facilities planneil?

IV\4S. There will be hotels of all star-ratings from two-star to superstar. There will also be golf courset swimming pools, a handicraftsvillage etc.

KMR, What are the proposeil entertainment altematitses fottouists?lln4s. All entertainment facilities in a tourist area will be availablein Bekal also. Discotheques, bars and massage parlours are all partsof hotels. The availability of such things will depend upon thedemand.

KMR, What will b e the' carrying cap acity' of B ekal?IWIS. Around 10,000 people.

KMR. Will the project afect the ecologicalbalance of the ateaT

AllVtS. What we have in mind is a plan to develop the area withoutdisturbing its ecological balance.

KMR. Hozl can you ensure this zahm there are so fitany peoplecoming anil going, so many hotels etc zaith a lot of garbage and all?

IVI4S. Itcan'tbe done without affecting the ecology at all, but allefforts will be made to minimise it.

KMR. Kasaragoil is knoum to be short of utatex What are theprooisions mztisageil for ailequate zaater supply? Is there aptoposal for a desalination plant?

Iri?t4S. The government surveys show that there are enough waterresources. So there is no need for setting up any desalination plant.

KMR, How zaill zaaste water be manageil?

IW[S. There will be a proper drainage system. Rerycling of watercan also be considered.

KMR. What area offorest should be cleareil?

An4S. There is no need of clearing forests hs almost all theconstructions will be near the beach.

KMR. What ate the marketing plans fot the pro ject?

IWS. The Bekal Development Authority will market it nationallyT

72

and internationally.


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rcm the procedings of the aboae conference we haoe translatedMnnik Sml


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motivations, the tourists demands have to be met.

I know a foreigner who came to Calcutta only to visit the Neemtolaghats where Tagorehadbeencremated. This is only anexample.We can find many such examples. It is necessary to keep track oftourists who have specific motivations. We have a general ratherthan a specific approach. A few days ago I met a tourist from Brazilwho wanted to know the daily food habits of Bengalis. His friendwanted to know how Bengalis dressed at home.

Those who come to West Bengal generally want to know ,understand and recognise Bengali culture. To know a thing withina few days is very difficult. Tourist spots have to be organised insuch a way so that they present a comprehensive picture of ourculture. This task is notbeingdone. Whateverisdone is devoidof authenticity, and done in a superficial manner.

One should remember that a tourist is sensitive, often to the pointof being touchy. Lack of honesty hurts them.

In the tourism professional the warmth of a welcome is lackingHeartfelt warmth is a must for successful tourism. Feelings ofriendship and solidariry generate heartfelt warmth. Those whvisit our state and our country should be treated as honouredBuests. On the road, in trams and buseq at hotels and railwaystations, everywhere we should keat the tourist with humanism.If we treat them well, the tourists will reciprocate with warmth.we keep this in mind we will recognise our responsibility to thforeign tourist.

The central idea in tourism is to identify our closeness so thatourists will be attracted. We can communicate this withoushessing our self-interest. Those who build real bridges are thones who engage in welfare work. As I said in the beginning let unot look at tourism as a business, let us see it as social work. I

Translated by Pradip Biswas and Nina Rao

BY US

n the 34 December the National Seminar onTourism, Globulisation, Deaelopment and lustice was jointlyheld by EQUATIONS and School of Social Sciences,

Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam at Ashirbhavan, Cochin.

Discussions about tourism issues were carried on within twodifferent languages - of governments and industry on the onehand, and of activists groups on the other. The seminar was notan attempt to continue any one of those specifi c traditions nor evento pitch an academic tent on a suitably middle ground. On thecontrary, it was an attempt to allow the different forms ofknowledge to confront and engage with each other.

In all there were around 120 participants varying from activists,government officials, travel and hotel industry officials andintellectuals. The papers presented are as follows: Tourism andWelfare - Dr Errol D'Souza, Department of Economics, Universityof Bombay, Bombay; Tourism and Development, The UnfoldingDilemma - Alito Siqueira, Department of Sociology, GoaUniversity, Goa (this paper is available elsewhere in this issue ofthe ANletter); Tourism Poliry: Need for Reorientation - Nina Rao,

College of Vocational Studies, Delhi University (also available inthis issue); Third World Therapy: Tourism and the Politics of SeriousLeisure-Ranjit Henry; Tourism Concepts for a Small World- PadmaRajagopal, Farmer, Craftsperson, Design Consultant); Views onTourism Promotion - K V Muralidharan, President, KeralaAssociation of Tiavel Agents, Trivandrum; Tourism Tortured? - DrS V Narayanan, Professor and K V K Prashant Kumar, B.E, MTAboth of Centre for Tourism Studies, Pondicherry Central University,Pondicherry; A note on the possible Impact of Tourism on BioDiversity of the High Ranges Munnar - James Zacharias and P VKarunakaran; Political Economy of Tourism InfrastructureDevelopmenh An Outline, H M Manjunath, Yatna; Free Wynadfrom Tourism - Thomas Ambalavayal. The copies of these paperscan be availed from EQUATIONS.

Training Prcgramme

On invitation from YMCA and SCM, EQUATIONS conductedcouple of training sessions in YMCA for the secretaries to be, from

all over the country. The training programme was conducted witthe need to promote Alternative Tourism, influence public ophionmobilise community participation and also to recognise that thereis a problem and for some perspective setting on the issues relatedto tourism in India.

The World Student Christian Federation WSCF) organised anInterregional Leadership Training Programme in August.EQUATIONS provided a basic introduction to the issues involvedin Third World Tourism and also suggested a possible interventionby the student communities on such issues. Responses from thparticipants revealed that their experience in and of India hadeeply moved them in a way that has helped them see othedimensions of the meaning of life which were not there before.

At The Asian College of Journalism, EQUATIONS discussed throle of media in the development of Tourism image.

Studies

EQUATIONS for the East Coast Road Action Committee (ECRAChas proposed to conduct a feasibility study. Preceding this study,preliminary survey was undertakenby ShirleySusan and SabinaSuri. The survey included identification and defining the kind oTourism projects likely to come up and identification of contactgroups/collaborators at the different places for their input in th

final study.

An audio-visual is also being prepared for campaigning purposesfor the ECRAC by EQUATIONS with technical help from SangamCommunications, Madras.

North-East Inilia

EQUATIONS proposes to have a meeting in North-East to builawareness on tourism development here. This programme hasbeen initiated with the first contacts being made with severaileading intellectuals of that area. The meeting will be heldsometime in the summer of 1995.

14


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A0630 - (G40)The Battle Against GoIf Cutse has begun.....Amedia backgrounder, documented and compiledby the Goa Desc1993,33 pp

A0640 - (H00)Thiril Woilil Therapy : Tourism and the Politics of Seious Leisureby KOLAM - responsible tours & soft travel, MadrasEssay contains quotes from Ashish Nandy, Claude Alvarez, RomilaThapar, Majorie Sykes, Wolfgang Sachs, Noam Chomsky tomention the most important few. May 1993,7 pp.

A06se-(r3s/803)BEKAL -Why? : An EQUATIONS Dossier on Bekal Special TourismArea Project, billed as one of Asia's largest projects. This dossiercontains a letter from EQUATIONS posing questions to thegovernment and industry about the objectives of this Project to helppeople elsewhere, faced by the challenge of the major tourismprojects. April 1994, 14 pp.

40661- (G40)In theName of a Gatne:The Stakes in GolfBailancho Saad (a Women's Collective) poses questions regardingthe proposed golf courses to the Government and cites its responses.The group's letter to the Director, Department of Tourism,Govemment of Goa and the Govemment's written response areincluded at the end of the booklet. November 7993,75pp, Rs.S/- or$2.00 (postage inclusive)

A0667 - (G40)GAG'M - Update, APPEN, Malaysia, December 1993, 103 pp.

Ao65e-(G1o/G02)Report on: NationalWorkshop on declining access to anil controloper Nahnal Resources in National Parks and SanctuariesSociety for Participatory Research in Asia and Rural Litigationand Entitlement Kendra. Includes papers on the issues of concemon National Parks and Sanctuaries in India; some observations onthe issues in Parks and Sanctuaries; critical analysis of the LegalProvisions of Sanctuary and National Park in India. October 1993,68 pp.

A068s - (136)Mastu Plan for the Development of Toutism in Kamatakaby Department of Tourism, Government of KamatakaDecember 1993,43 pp.

40589 - 03s)lmpact of TouristnDeoelopment: APilot Study of KovalamBeachin Kerala Dissertation submitted to the University of Kerala by BVijayakumar. The study analyses the various impacts created by

tourism on the resident. April 193, 8a pp.

A06e6 - (j10)Leisure Lifestyles - Touist Actiaities : Are Western ApproachesSustainable? Paper presented at the WLRA Congress, Jaipur, bDavid Leslie, Glasgow Caledonian Univ., The paper debates thquestion whether leisure lifestyles and thus the tourist activitiesthose in the western industrialised societies are sustainable.December 7993,16pp.

40730 - (G01)Touism Development anil Entsironmental Issues - AClose Look ATamil Nadu. A paper presented by Latheef KizhisseriEQUATIONS atTamil Nadu Environmental Issues and JointActionWorkshop. The paper is an exploratory attempt to look at tourismdevelopment with holistic perspective and focussing analysis onenvironmental issues emerging from tourism development.EQUATIONS, August, 799 4, 42 pp.

4076e - (177)The Political Effects of Touinn Deoelopment, Geotge Aditj ondtPapers fromThe Indonesian Activists Program, Yogjakarta, Augus1994,10pp.

A0776 - (G10)Draft Wildlife Tburistn Guiilelines fot Inilia, MinistryEnvironment & Forests, Government of India

March 1994,6 pp.A0817 - (r10)Limited Legal Reilrcss - Pollution Battles, Nomra Alvares,lawyer, argues that the mixed judicial record in Goa indicates thatofficers of courts need to be exposed to more primary informationabout the environment. The Hindu: Survey of the Environment7994,4pp.

A0828 - (C10)Employnent Generation in the Hotel, Catuing anil Tourism S ectoDr Peter U C Dieke (UNDP), Mr Njeru Kirira (Min. of Tourismand Wildlife), Mr Roger Doswell ([O), [O Publication, AugustL993,61pp.

Ao8s0 - 011)TOIIKISM - The Ma*eting of P aruiliseIn an effort to balance declines in non-oil export revenue growthIndonesia is launching a series of programs to strengthen thtourism indushy. What are Indonesia's chances against equallaggressive tourism campaigns conducted by neighbourhoodcountries? Economic & Business, Review Indonesia, No.120, |uly 31994,7 pp.

15

* Programme Associate, EQUATIONS Documentation Cell


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I write in response to your invitation to co t on the"Statement of Concern" adopted at the Ninth Meeting of theGeneral Body of EQUATIONS and published in the luly 7994issue of ANletter. It may be helpful to add another statementon tourism in the context of neo.colonialism, and it would bethis:

Tourism marginalises and takes resources away from economicdevelopment, which gives priority to economic activities thatsupport the quality of life of its community's residents. This maynot be the best wording, but it is an attempt to state what I seethe "visitor industry" having done to Hawaii. Tourism,orchestrated by the state and private corporations, trulymarginalises economic development activities growing out ofa community base because they aren't seen as making an impacton the state's economy. Policy makers forget that the colonisersimposed export industries (sugar and pineapple) to formHawaii's economic underpinning, and when those began tosag, began to build up tourism. Now that tourism, the neo-colonial. economic activity is sagging, it again looks to attractinga big industry with capital from elsewhere, rather than lookingat

theeconomic

activities whichhad been displaced

by sugarand pineapple and which had been sustaining a people. Asis suggested in the article on "Responsible Tourism" (page10-11, July 1994)," ...any decision to further develop tourism hasto be weighed carefully with its possible outcomes... as well asthe opportunity costs of developing other economic sectors,whidr are often more crucial for our subsistence".

Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

June Shimokawa, Hawaii Area Program Office, Hawaii, USA

o Thanks for the ANletter of July 94 (Vol 3, No 1). Your editorial- Statement of Concern - was eitiemely thought provoking.

M.Thomas. Madras

o Again, congratulations on another fine issue of ANletter. Whatfeed back do you get from your North American friends? YourStatement of Concern is well done. It must have brought a newawareness of solidarity among your general body members asyou went through the process necessary to develop it. Whatprograrnmatic changes are resulting from this? I am copying thestatement for all our board members - one way for them toincrease their awareness of EQUATIONS and globalpartnership.........

Have you ever considered making one page of your ANletter areport on what you do, are thinking, personalising your work forthose of us far away? Also, as non-Indians, we often wonderabout the writers of the articles you include, what organisationthey represent, what criteria is used for choosing their articles?And continual thanks for the copies of your Up-Date! We planto use this to launch an India corner in our newsletter,Responsible Traveling. We hope the German parallel NewsWatch will be translated into English soon.

Virginia T. Hadsell, Center for Responsible Tourism, USA

r I very much agree with your argument of adevelopment-rationale related to the improvement of quality oflife of the communities and the need for profound shifts in theconcerns of planning. Paul and Basavaraj Hebballi's report onthe Andaman and Nicobar Islands sourrCed alarming. TheBOT(build,operate and transfer) policy will certainly constrainany control of negative i.mpacts on the fragile island worlds. Theannouncement of the IGNOU programme in tourism studies andthe report of the panel discussion at trC manifest recentdevelopments. I'm keen to learn about the seminar in Kerala onTourism Poliry. The report on Bekal offered very interestingopinions about this location.

Latheef Kizhisseri's questions are as important as they fallinto polemics in describing the post-modern reading aswar-fare. (Understanding post-modern realities couldcontribute to a more profound critique of modem tourism.)Could you please explain to me what he means by profitashwamedha?* The justified criticism of the political economyof tourism by Yatna didn't offer convincing solutions. Theinter-generational parity is being discussed in Europe too. (ButPareto-optimality as reference is disputed). There is the needfor a new understanding of redistribution and welfare-policy.But focussing on domestic tourists and demanding a more jirsteconomy will be insufficient and not really effective. Thetimes of polarized counter-positions and simplifyingclass-thinking is over. The economical system is more complexas neo-colonial critique and center-periphery thinking can everreach (nothing to say change).

The contetnporary role of the economics of tourism is relatedto different processes which are not considered in the article.How tourism actually interacts and works will become moreimportant than such anti-tourism approach. As important as

the problematic effects are the multivarious changes whicJractually occur. In all the ambivalence they take forni largelyas altered opportunity structures in which individuals andgroups make (or cannot make anymore) choices and exerciseoptions...(capital powers, ownership, properfy rights, legalsystem, etc) The inequal endowment questions andconstraining conditions have to be taken into systematicaccount. Morals and justice dimensions cdnnot be imposedbut must be "produced" and emerge th-rough an accordingsocio-ecological economic system. This does not exclude thecriticism that opting for opendoor p9liry and putting norestriction whatsoever on foreign intrusion while refrainingfrom channeling the development by strict laws andregulations as a market-systen strategy( equitableredistribution?) will cause long-term detrimental changes withunpredictable consequences. But we must try to overcome.overgeneralisations and develop a more sophisticatedapproach asking different questions and a more differentiatednotion of political economy.

Wendelin Kuepers, Germany

* Profit ashwamedha:The global war for increasing profit by aariousmefrnq conductedby MNCs throughout the entireworld- Editor

Published by Equitable Tourism Options (EQUATIONS), 168, 8th Main Road, Behind Indiranagar Club, Bangalore. INDIA Phone: 080-5282313, Fax: O80-5282627 (Attn. 020),Telex: 084F8600 CSCI IN (Ath. 007), Cable: EQUATIONS BANGAI-ORE, Design & Layout by Dhanaraj Keezhara and Typesetting by Verba Network Services,

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Documents

ANLetter Volume 3 Issue 3-Jan 1995-EQUATIONS