Click on the above pictures to read the photo feature prepared by Madhu Reddy, who travelled as a volunteer to the Sunderbans as part of Responsible Tourism initiatives to document the disaster and the work being done there. The initiative was started by The Blue Yonder, Help Tourism and Traveltocare.com, in association with Association for Conservation and Tourism to respond to the devastating Cyclone Aila that hit the eastern part of India on 25th May 2009.
Labels: Help Tourism, Media, Sunderbans, The Blue Yonder, Travel to Care
Independent UK review :The Barefoot resort features 18 environmentally sustainable, rustic cottages set against a jungle backdrop
Survival International accuses Barefoot group of endangering the lives of the entire Jerawa people and of potential genocide!
On 16th June 2009, we received several forwarded emails from friends and colleagues about a press release from Survival International titled, "Celebrity resort threatens isolated tribes". This was of concern for us at Traveltocare.com and The Blue Yonder as the Barefoot Group is one of our partners in business. We have recommended them to our guests , they impressed us by sharing their credentials and initiatives as a responsible service provider. We have been working together and a campaign accusing one of our partners as 'irresponsible" and worse, accused of threatening the survival of the Jarawa people of the Andaman Islands came as a shock.
" Survival believes that by constructing at Collinpur, you are endangering the lives of the entire Jarawa tribe. If a serious epidemic were to strike them then your company could be responsible for their genocide. We urge you to abandon all plans to build a hotel in this location" (read the direct letter from Survival International)
We approached Samit Sawhny (Managing Director) of Barefoot asking if the accusations were correct or not and if Barefoot had a statement to make. The well-documented reply that we received from him makes us quite sceptical about the real intention of Survival International and we believe that this issue has to be brought out in the public domain.
We urge you to read the contents in the links Press Reports from Survival International and Responses from Barefoot.
Based on Survival International's accusatory and ill-worded press release and Barefoot's response, this appears to be a malicious campaign by an NGO based on sheer ignorance, carelessness or ... We have seen many businesses in the travel industry that would fit into the domain of being irresponsible. We have also seen many travel companies, accommodation providers and governments being accused by NGOs of being irresponsible. We want to stand by one of our partners who is engaged in a legally and responsibly managed business. Campaigns based alone on emotions and celebrity name-dropping (like Kate Winslet) can bring in sound bites, but should lose credibility if the facts are not right.
We would like to hear your opinion: Can NGOs freely accuse any business of wrong doing, without substantiated research and evidence? Aren't NGOs accountable for their words and actions? Doesn't responsibility apply to NGOs as well, or is this confined only to private business and governments?
We would like to hear your voice on this topic! Join us on the Irresponsibletourism.info forum to discuss the responsibilities of NGO campaigners.
On 16th June 2009, we received several forwarded emails from friends and colleagues about a press release from Survival International titled, "Celebrity resort threatens isolated tribes". This was of concern for us at Traveltocare.com and The Blue Yonder as the Barefoot Group is one of our partners in business. We have recommended them to our guests , they impressed us by sharing their credentials and initiatives as a responsible service provider. We have been working together and a campaign accusing one of our partners as 'irresponsible" and worse, accused of threatening the survival of the Jarawa people of the Andaman Islands came as a shock.
" Survival believes that by constructing at Collinpur, you are endangering the lives of the entire Jarawa tribe. If a serious epidemic were to strike them then your company could be responsible for their genocide. We urge you to abandon all plans to build a hotel in this location" (read the direct letter from Survival International)
We approached Samit Sawhny (Managing Director) of Barefoot asking if the accusations were correct or not and if Barefoot had a statement to make. The well-documented reply that we received from him makes us quite sceptical about the real intention of Survival International and we believe that this issue has to be brought out in the public domain.
We urge you to read the contents in the links Press Reports from Survival International and Responses from Barefoot.
Based on Survival International's accusatory and ill-worded press release and Barefoot's response, this appears to be a malicious campaign by an NGO based on sheer ignorance, carelessness or ... We have seen many businesses in the travel industry that would fit into the domain of being irresponsible. We have also seen many travel companies, accommodation providers and governments being accused by NGOs of being irresponsible. We want to stand by one of our partners who is engaged in a legally and responsibly managed business. Campaigns based alone on emotions and celebrity name-dropping (like Kate Winslet) can bring in sound bites, but should lose credibility if the facts are not right.
We would like to hear your opinion: Can NGOs freely accuse any business of wrong doing, without substantiated research and evidence? Aren't NGOs accountable for their words and actions? Doesn't responsibility apply to NGOs as well, or is this confined only to private business and governments?
We would like to hear your voice on this topic! Join us on the Irresponsibletourism.info forum to discuss the responsibilities of NGO campaigners.
Labels: Andamans, Ethics, Irresponsible Toursm, Responsible Tourism, The Blue Yonder, Travel to Care
As part of fund raising initiatives to support the victimes of Cyclone Aila that has created havoc in the lives of people living in and around Sunderbans region of West Bengal, we are looking at various sponsorship opportunities. The banner on the home page is available for sponsorship. This sponsorship can help us re-build a health centre, or provide shelter, clean drinking water, and help re-build the dykes that has been completely destroyed in many parts of Sunderbans.
This initiative is supported by The Blue Yonder, Traveltocare.com and Help Tourism.
Looking forward to your support.
Labels: Fund Raising, Help Tourism, Responsible Tourism, The Blue Yonder, Travel to Care
Navin Berry, Rika Jean-Francoise, Gopinath Parayil, Ashish Gupta
The Blue Yonder in association with Travel to Care and ICRT India organised a Responsible Tourism Networking event in partnership with ITB - Berlin at the SATTE April 2009 in New Delhi. The event gave opportunity for many new initiatives on Responsible Tourism to pitch their work to a global audience. Though TBY had taken initiatives to organise similiar events at the back drop of World Travel Market in London and at the ITB in Berlin, this was the first time such a networking was beamed online.
The text interaction with participants from Croatia, Ghana, Vienna, Kerala was streamed live
The text interaction with participants from Croatia, Ghana, Vienna, Kerala was streamed live
attendees who stayed back till the end of the networking event.
Labels: ICRT India, ITB Berlin, Responsible Tourism, RT networking, SATTE, The Blue Yonder, Travel to Care
RT networking at SATTE, New Delhi 24 April 2009
0 Comments
Published by GP
on Tuesday, 21 April 2009
The Responsible Tourism Networking at SATTE New Delhi
> Date : 24th April 2009
> Time : IST 1700-1900
> Venue : Conference Hall 11 / SATTE Pragathi Maidan
> Organisers in India: ICRT India, ITB Berlin, Travel to Care and The Blue Yonder
In co-operation with Travel Mole's VISION, we are making this event available online as well. A max of 1000 online users can access the webinar and see the pitches made in New Delhi and EUME Croatia. If you are interested in following the webinar online, please click the following link. https://www2.gotomeeting.com/join/299384946/n/n2
The online event is in tune with Indian event. Please check your localtime here and ensure you are online and on realtime. http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html
By IST 1630 the moderators Sally Broom of YourSafePlanet.com, Gopinath Parayil of TheBlueYonder.com, Ashish Gupta from Traveltocare.com, Raj Gyawali from SocialTreks.com, Marcus Bauer from respontour.net and Valere Tjolle of VISION on Sustainable Tourism - tourism-vision.com will be online.
Please give yourself half an hour preparation time before the actual event start.
Let us know if you have any questions, we will be glad to help you.
Looking forward to meeting you in Delhi or online.
> Date : 24th April 2009
> Time : IST 1700-1900
> Venue : Conference Hall 11 / SATTE Pragathi Maidan
> Organisers in India: ICRT India, ITB Berlin, Travel to Care and The Blue Yonder
In co-operation with Travel Mole's VISION, we are making this event available online as well. A max of 1000 online users can access the webinar and see the pitches made in New Delhi and EUME Croatia. If you are interested in following the webinar online, please click the following link. https://www2.gotomeeting.com/join/299384946/n/n2
The online event is in tune with Indian event. Please check your localtime here and ensure you are online and on realtime. http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html
By IST 1630 the moderators Sally Broom of YourSafePlanet.com, Gopinath Parayil of TheBlueYonder.com, Ashish Gupta from Traveltocare.com, Raj Gyawali from SocialTreks.com, Marcus Bauer from respontour.net and Valere Tjolle of VISION on Sustainable Tourism - tourism-vision.com will be online.
Please give yourself half an hour preparation time before the actual event start.
Let us know if you have any questions, we will be glad to help you.
Looking forward to meeting you in Delhi or online.
Labels: ICRT India, ITB Berlin, New Delhi, Responsible Tourism, RT networking, SATTE, The Blue Yonder, Travel to Care
