The death and devastation in Uttarakhand could have been less severe, had the region, visited by large number of tourists and pilgrims each year, practised responsible tourism.
That, obviously, is wishful thinking in retrospect. But, responsible tourism (RT), which gels well with the environment, holds great promise for shrinking the scope and scale of natural calamities, particularly in the Himalayan region.
“Environmental responsibility is the first of the three core principles of RT,” says Suman Billa, Kerala Government’s Principal Secretary, Tourism. The other two are economic responsibility and social responsibility. “RT makes environmental protection the responsibility of all tourism stakeholders, including the local people.” Such an approach can check environmental degradation substantially.
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