PANJIM: Human Rights Consultant Dr Ranjan Solomon emphasised on minimising negative impacts in the tourism industry, while stressing that Goa tourism should be people-oriented.
After releasing the publication ‘People’s Charter for Tourism,’ on the 10th anniversary of the Centre for Responsible Tourism, Solomon questioned about who was benefiting from tourism.
“Goa tourism should be just, inclusive and people-oriented. Tracing the changes from the time when the hippies first descended on Goan beaches looking for peace and the present scenario of corporate holidays… ‘Who benefits from tourism?’ If we follow the guiding principles for assessing economic impacts, social and environmental responsibility, all the stakeholders in tourism will be able to provide tourism services which will minimise negative impacts and maximise the positive,” he said.North Collector Nila Mohanan, who was the Chief Guest at the function, spoke on the importance of diverging from mainstream tourism to alternative and responsible tourism, without ignoring the ecological dimension. She insisted that nature should not suffer at the expense of tourism.
The program, held on the World Tourism Day on September 27, saw an inter-collegiate debate, where participants from colleges offering Travel and Tourism as a course discussed on the topic ‘The People’s Charter should replace the Master Plan for Tourism’, inter-collegiate photography contest on the theme “Goa we do not know” and felicitation of responsible functionaries in the tourism sectors besides release of two publications – ‘Peoples Charter for Tourism’ and ‘People over profits’.
The highlight of the anniversary celebrations was the felicitation of unsung heroes who responsibly conducted themselves in the tourism sector including Ana Francisca Fernandes, a widow who managed the Nawrencio Shack at Candolim for the past 20 years; Serafino Cota who runs a guest house Dona Sa Maria at Cavelossim for Best Practices in Waste Management and Water Management, Luis Fernandes, (aged 70 years) a senior tourist taxi owner, who still drives his repeat clients around narrating the history and culture of Goa with passion and John Francisco Pires, a raponnkar who on observing the behaviour of the sea saved the lives of more than 10 persons and paved the way for modern lifeguards. Solomon was also felicitated for his service in the shaping the Centre for Responsible Tourism.
A book compiled and edited by Solomon, entitled “People over Profits” was also released by Mohanan.
