Responsible Tourism Initiatives in Thekkady-An Analysis

Responsible tourism is a management strategy embracing planning, management, product development and marketing to bring about positive economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts. It provides more rewarding holiday experiences for guests, enables local communities to enjoy a better quality of life and conserve the natural environment. The responsible tourism initiative in Kerala was first implemented in four destinations viz., Kovalam, Kumarakom, Thekkady and Wayanad. The Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS) under Kerala Tourism is the nodal agency to implement RT initiatives in the State. Thekkady in Kerala State, India's largest wildlife sanctuary is a dream destination for any tourist visiting India. There are a lot of responsible tourism initiatives (activities) such as cultivation of vegetables, rearing of cows, hens and other domestic animals at households, papad making, rice four making, samrudhi unit and community based tourism products etc put forward by local as well as state and central government for the development of Thekkady and the local community. These responsible tourism initiatives at Thekkady are expected to generate direct benefits to local people by contributing to the development of local economies which in turn expected to provide better living condition for the host communities. The present paper analyses the responsible tourism in Thekkady.