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Interpreting a river - interview with Arun Prabhakaran:
Designed based on the concepts of Responsible Tourism, our holiday options across River Nila ensures that the benefits of tourism reaches local communities in a substantial way and helps revive many traditional art forms that were on its way to oblivion. The way our holidays were designed to provide alternative and supplementary sources of income for the local people were highly commended at the First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards at the World Travel Mart in London 2006. David talks to Arun, who is our chief researcher and interpreter, on how we interpret River Nila as a unique travel experience. |
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Compared to a conventional destination, have you found it
challenging to interpret a river civilization like the Nila's? Not having any prior experience in conventional tourism probably helped us not to have any prejudices about how to interpret. Since the experience we are offering is different from what you see in the normal tourist circuits in Kerala, or any other place for that matter, we were clear about how we wanted this to reach our guests. The idea was to let the world know about a unique river valley civilization. We were looking at our guests as our ambassadors, and we wanted to make sure they would talk to people about our river and its richness once they left. That's why it was important for us to make sure they were connected to these experiences. At the same time, since one of the focus areas was on the living culture along the Nila banks, one of the big challenges to us was to make sure that the local people also felt that connection, and could see that people from a different place and different culture find value in the things that we might take for granted as being part of day to day life. What were the most challenging aspects in promoting a destination like River Nila? back to top When we started the project of promoting the River Nila as a destination, the idea was to bring the attention of the global community to the status of a dying river, and gradually build this into a holistic movement that wouldn’t be limited by any institutional boundaries. But why would someone want to come and see a dying river? This was the question that disturbed us in the beginning. So the focus had to shift away from the dying river, while putting the story of its status subtly into the tour programs. In marketing parlance, I guess this was about positioning the product. We had to literally go around the villages on the banks of the river, discovering things that we thought made this particular river unique. This process resulted in us developing the Thoni Cruise, the Musical and Culinary Trails, Folk Expressions and so on. Since most of the rituals and activities that our guests get to experience are somehow based on the river civilization, we wanted to prompt the question in their minds: “What would happen to this entire rich heritage if the river itself dies?”. Kerala already had a well-defined “triangle” of backwaters, beaches and hill stations. How did you get people to start thinking about the idea of river-based tourism? back to top I think this is the first time anyone has tried to promote river tourism in Kerala. Being a small organization with hardly any outreach into the global market and literally no influence with the tourism department, we decided that rather than waiting years to convince the Government and the industry about the “possibilities” of developing a destination based on a river culture and its lifestyle, we would save our energy by marketing to potential guests directly, through the web and through personal contacts. Even then it was challenging to bring foreign guests to a place that was not on the tourism map of Kerala. Travel agents only want to sell places that are well known, and the only information anyone had on the River Nila was the few pages about it on the Blue Yonder website. Getting people to visit a place that even the Lonely Planet and Footprint guides didn't know existed was difficult How did your initial guests respond to this new, unknown destination? back to top Considering the calculated risks we were taking in promoting a destination that was literally, in tourism terms, non-existent, we were careful about choosing the guests. We started to talk to personal acquaintances, friends who understood why we set up the business, travellers who were looking for a different experience. Most of the guests who came in the beginning were given a full briefing on what to expect and what not to expect, and the response was very positive. One of the senior officials from UCPA from France told us after the trip: “Your programs have people at their core. The seven days spent with your team on the banks of the River Nila was a seven star experience, especially the cultural interaction and festival trails.” Later, once our web presence increased and we began getting referrals from previous guests, we didn’t have to go through the same filtering process as guests were approaching us with well defined expectations. They knew what they were looking for and we knew what we could offer them You say you wanted people to “connect” to the river. Are there special methods you use to get people interested in the Nila in that deeper way? back to top Connecting the place with legends and stories was one way of creating interest amongst our guests. I think if we had focused on the water in the river, then we would have been in trouble - anyone can organize a boat cruise - so instead we tried to portray the river as a hotbed of culture, heritage and a unique civilization. Also, the cultural and natural interpretation behind these trips goes much deeper than conventional guiding, and makes the guest want to explore more. Our guests would want to know what is happening in local areas, and equally our hosts would want to know more about the visitors’ culture. There is a lot of learning happening on both sides. In a world that is increasingly full of tensions and short of patience, these interactions make holidays memorable for everybody. What about their ongoing impression of the way The Blue Yonder is presenting the Nila? back to top In general I think travelers are excited to go to places that are managed differently from conventional travel destinations. Almost all of our guests comment on the level of care we take to focus our holidays on preservation and conservation, whether that be cultural or natural. While all our trips are benchmarked to maximise the positive impacts of tourism on the local community and environment, we also ensure that our holidays minimize any of the negative impacts that tourism can have in sensitive areas. The moment they understand why we are running this business in certain ways and how we are creating opportunities for local people, they see how their holiday is making a positive difference. What to you is the most exciting part of the work you are doing? back to top Being born and brought up on the banks of this river meant that we all had a personal connection with the river and its surroundings. But I think we took many things for granted until this opportunity came up to research and then interpret the river culture for travellers. I start exploring the area from a new perspective. I had to put myself in the place of somebody seeing the river and meeting the people for the first time, and it was great fun to learn many things that I myself didn’t know existed. I've seen more places and met more interesting people in the last three years along the river banks than in the entire life that I spent here! Since TBY was a social entrepreneur and pioneer in Responsible Tourism in Kerala, we had a well-defined focus on creating wealth for the local people. From sand miners to folk artists, from martial art experts to cobblers and goldsmiths, we were looking at themes that would allow us to incorporate them into the holiday. This generates alternative and supplementary sources of income for them and provides a reason for them to pursue many skills and art forms that were being given up for purely economic reasons. The appreciation our guests show when we explain the linkages, and when the guests and our people talk about the river in the same breath, that’s pure joy for us. What does the recent decision by the government to promote the River Nila as a destination mean to you? back to top The way in which we have been operating our holidays and how we define a destination has caught the attention of many people, but when the government organizations engage in this in a serious way then the story is different, because their outreach is vast. So we are very happy that the government is taking an initiative towards promoting the Nila as a destination, and that the Blue Yonder will be involved as consultants. There are many art forms, many cultural institutions, that are in a decaying stage. Proper attention from the government could bring in the funds needed to preserve them, and provide job opportunities for the people for whom these forms of culture are a passion. The mismatch between passion and struggle to making a living has been a curse for many artists in this area. My only concern is that I hope that the Government initiative won't be confined to improving infrastructure. It also needs to look at opportunities to create wealth for local people, encourage conservation, and preserve the heritage and traditions. Any initiative that is going to be started shouldn’t be short sighted but should have a vision for sustainable development. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Writer, photographer
and Indophile David Stott used to think he divided his
time between England and Australia, until he realised he’d spent
more time in India over the last 3 years than in either of his
so-called homes. A regular contributor to a variety of Indian,
Australian, British and Asian travel books and magazines, he
shares The Blue Yonder’s commitment to promoting conscious
travel, and is currently trying to calculate exactly how much
offsetting a travel journalist has to do in order to be carbon
neutral. Contact David
here
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