Bangalore resort in focus for sustainable tourism

Our Native Village resort will serve as role model for eco-tourism

 Highly-placed sources in the Tourism Ministry indicated that Our Native Village eco-resort near Bangalore may serve as a role model while adapting GSTC to Indian standards.
Stakeholders in the tourism sector agreed to adopt the sustainable tourism criteria, which is being developed out of GSTC to suit the Indian context, after an extensive workshop in the capital recently.

“GSTC needed adaptation to Indian requirements without diluting its idea, as in its original format it is more suited to Western conditions,” sources said.

Our Native Village, an eco-resort at Hasserghatta area on the outskirts of Bangalore, has won several awards for its promotion of ecologically-sustainable tourism model that is aimed at giving city dwellers an experience of living close to the nature.

Sources said a steering committee headed by a joint secretary in the ministry would adapt GSTC to Indian conditions as early as possible. “As of now, GSTC is applicable to only hotels and tour operators but the need of the hour is to include transporters and other entities of the tourism sector such as dhabas, wayside amenities, heritage sites, etc, in its ambit,” sources said.

At the workshop organised at the behest of Tourism and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja, it was decided that once the criteria was developed by the steering committee, incorporating GSTC and other global best practices, it will be formally adopted.

The need for such a criteria was felt because of the unorganised and uncontrolled growth of the tourism sector in the country, leading to a negative impact on the environment and ecology of destinations.

Views of international experts like Stefanos Fotiou, regional coordinator of the United Nation’s Environment Programme’s Resource Efficiency and Sustainable Consumption and Production programme for the Asia-Pacific region, Erika Harms, executive director of Sustainable Tourism Council and senior adviser on tourism at the United Nations Foundation, and Amos Roger Bien are also being sought for this purpose.