“Tourism with proper planning can change lives of people positively”
- Interview with Sandeep Sinha: Chief Manager of TBY.

Until recently, Sandeep Sinha was working as Manager – Incoming Sales at the Thomas Cook India in Mumbai before he joined The Blue Yonder – Bangalore as Chief Manager. At a time when the global travel market is changing to reflect socially, economically, and environmentally aware holidays, Sandeep shares his vision for the industry on what Responsible Tourism has to offer for a destination like India.

Sandeep believes that Responsible Tourism is the way forward for India and talks to Sandra M Herman on what made him move from a large but conventional travel company to The Blue Yonder.

What made you decide to move from Thomas Cook to a comparatively smaller organisation like The Blue Yonder?

What attracted me the most was the positive impact a smaller organisation like TBY can have in the industry, as well as in the lives of common people who are normally not so much part of the conventional travel business. When The Blue Yonder won the Responsible Tourism Award for using tourism as a tool for poverty reduction at the World Travel Mart in London, I was there representing my old company. This made me think a lot and prompted me to think about many things I could do as well!

I was impressed by the care TBY gives to every single holiday experience. Until then I hadn't seen or known a single travel company in India that was providing details to their guests about how their holidays would benefit the local communities and the surrounding environment.

TBY by then had taken the initiative to set up the associate program, to enlist properties who are practicing responsible tourism in Kerala - this is now spreading to encompass the rest of India. It was also fundamental in setting up the International Centre for Responsible Tourism in India (ICRT India), which later led to organizing National and State-level workshops in Bangalore and Trivandrum influencing the industry and Governments to pursue Responsible Tourism in India. Since Responsible Tourism was in its nascent stage when I was introduced to it, I saw moving to TBY as the opportunity where I could make changes and influence the industry to follow this positive lead.

Was it a difficult move for you to make?

When people learnt that I was joining TBY, there was a lot of pressure on me from friends in the industry and also relatives, as this move didn't make any sense to them.

The transition has been difficult to some extent initially because of the difference in the work culture. There was quite a lot of learning and un-learning that had to be done on both sides. TBY was in need of procedures and systems, and the freedom I received in designing and implementing these within the organisation made the transition quite smooth. The flat structure and open work culture within the organisation and the strong ethics with which TBY is run makes a lot of difference to the working environment. The support I received from the energetic and passionate team made my move from Mumbai to Bangalore even smoother.

Do you think there is a future for Responsible Tourism in India?

Definitely. I believe Responsible Tourism is the way forward for a destination like India. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, India is seeing a tremendous 'growth' potential and is poised to see an International tourist inflow that will outperform global industry standards. With a growing middle class, which has disposable income and an interest in travelling to various destinations within India, tourism can mean a lot to the ecology, our culture, and environment, and moreover to some of the 350-400 million people who live below the poverty line, 75% of them in rural areas.

If a small company like The Blue Yonder can make changes in destinations like Kerala and Sikkim, I believe that a pro-active involvement of travellers, tour operators, accommodation providers and the Government, together in consultation with local people, can change the way tourism activities are organised in the country. Only such an initiative can decrease the negative impacts of tourism and increase the positive impacts within.

Even the trends in the industry last years show what the future is for Indian travel industry.The Rural Village project from India Tourism (public private partnership), The Blue Yonder and Sunderbans Jungle Camp (Private initiatives with community participation), and the Orchid Ecotel and Friday's Place (Responsible Tourism providers in accommodation) are just a few of the projects that won acclaim for responsible tourism.

How do you think Responsible Tourism will develop further in India?

As I mentioned earlier, success of responsible tourism in India, or any other destination for that matter, will be based on consultation between all the stakeholders. I see that the Government has a large role to play in promoting the positive aspects of running the hospitality business responsibly. As they have done in Kerala during the workshop co-organised by Kerala tourism and ICRT India, the stakeholders from tour operators, accommodation providers, government departments, self-help groups, civil society organisations and political parties, all need to sit together and define what "Responsibility" means to each of them. As part of these workshops, four locations in Kerala were identified (Wayanad, Kovalam, Periyar and Kumarakom) as a pilot for RT initiatives with a specific focus on increasing the economic benefits to local people. As a spin-off from these consultations, destination management committees have been set up.It's quite impressive to see how hotels and restaurants in these areas are doing a demand survey under the guidance of the tourism department to identify products and resources that they can source locally.

With the scope for providing diverse experiences based on our long coastlines, mountains, deserts, backwaters, rivers and forests with excellent wildlife to travellers, it is important to look at the possibilities of increasing the participation of rural communities in tourism. Careful planning and consultations would help support projects on conservation and preservation of art forms, heritage sites etc that could otherwise go into oblivion.

The future of responsible tourism in India will also depend on the "level of ownership and responsibility" that individual players in the travel industry are willing to take to make changes. This is probably the right time for all stake holders to take responsibility for what they can."

Do you think the global trends on "travelling responsibly" affect the way travel business is operated in India?

Yes. It has to. People are no longer travelling to destinations for the old style 'sand and beach' tourism. Studies have shown that travellers are looking for experiences that give them the touch and feel of the local culture and interaction with real people. This goes beyond hotel rooms and resorts. People are searching for holidays that make positive impacts to local people's life and the environment surrounding their holiday destinations.

According to a latest study by Mintel, the UK has over a million "responsible" travellers, who are worth GBP £409 million a year to destinations including India. Mintel's research also "detects the seeds of change, predicting a 25% growth in the responsible travel market year on year." Many companies in originating markets are positioning their holidays as "Responsible" and organisations are beginning to see the competitive advantage. As in any business, capturing the market advantage is important here too. It would be foolish on our side not to change tourism practices and underestimate the holiday expectations of the travellers. Moving to responsible tourism is also an economic opportunity, as this brings in repeat clientele.

As Michael Hammer once said, "You can't look at the future as a continuation of the past - because the future is going to be different. We really have to unlearn the way we dealt with the past in order to deal with the future."

Sandra M Herman is an avid traveller and believes in travelling responsibly. An Austrian by birth, Sandra now works and lives between Germany and Sri Lanka. A trainer and consultant in hospitality and tourism industry, Sandra runs an organisation called Suprem Consultancy based in Munich. She was recently in Kerala to interact with the interpreters and guides who operate along River Nila. You can contact Sandra here.