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Update October 2007 |
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2007 Condé Nast Traveler World Savers Award for TBY
The awards are given to hotels, tour operators, and destinations to recognize their outstanding initiatives in five areas, viz. education, health, poverty relief, cultural and environmental preservation and wildlife conservation. Already a recipient of 2006 First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards at the WTM, London, TBY received an honorable mention as Tour Operator and was appreciated for spreading wealth amongst communities and for the initiatives taken towards environment conservation and cultural preservation. During the award ceremony, the judging panel commented, on TBY initiatives of employing people who are exclusively from the local areas, and appreciated the efforts taken by TBY to provide alternate sources of income for people from various background including sand miners, folk artists, musicians and farmers. It is an honor for a small tour operator like The Blue Yonder to be recognized by Condé Nast Traveler in North America in the same year when India has been voted as the favorite country to travel to, by readers of Conde Nast Traveler, UK. We sincerely hope that recognitions like this to the travel industry in India will prompt many other players to take a lead in Responsible Tourism that can bring about changes in the lives of common people and the environment we live in. |
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India By-Cycle
Way back in the 50s, Che Guevara hopped on his motorcycle and took the turn wherever the road bent. His dream was his direction. And that makes you wonder if it really happened, but some dreams are real from the start. Many such enthusiasts go down similar roads for different purposes. Daya Mama [uncle] and Sudha Chikki [aunt], friends of The Blue Yonder with their little six year old daughter discussed one of their adventurous expeditions that they took way back in the early 80s. These two took a road trip on a bike to explore Karnataka in the early 80s. As they shared their memories, they told us about a story that they could never forget. Read the complete feature here |
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Our Native Village : A TBY Associate in Bangalore Our Native Village takes you back to those golden years, when life was all about kite flying, top spinning battles, catapult fights, marbles, gilli danda and hop scotch. When scaling new heights meant how high you could climb the guava tree and innovation was all about stealing mangoes from your neighbor's tree under his nose! A wedding in the family brings out the artist in you and suddenly you find yourself experimenting with ‘mehendi'. ‘Our Native Village’ takes you back to these long forgotten joyful experiences, treasured in some corner of your memory. A rare experience: to look behind and still move ahead. Our Native Village is an eco resort, 40 kms from Bangalore (South India) on a 12 acre farm in Hessargatta. Electricity is generated using solar panels, windmills and bio gas plants to conserve and reuse energy. Efficient waste disposal is maintained by using leech pits, reed water pits and a bio gas digester. Rain water is harvested and freshly grown fruits and vegetables are used from the organic farm. The bricks for construction are made from the earth that was dug up for the foundation. Our Native Village has India’s first natural swimming pool, where aquatic plants, not chlorine will purify the water. A traditional Indian spa offering Ayurvedic wellness packages under the guidance of the Foundation for the revival of Rural Health Traditions. This resort has been reviving old traditions, practices, and games, so that it does not get forgotten in the pace of modernization. It doesn’t have to end with a bullock cart ride; you can learn to ride one, legally! You can obtain a bullock cart license here. From churning butter to ploughing a field to milking a cow, you can learn to adapt to another lifestyle. Our Native Village is trying to revive interest in Veera kallus (Hero Stones) that tells tales from a forgotten past, a unique form historical preservation that people are unaware of. Experience a new way of living at Our Native Village - a threshold into an authentic Indian Village. For more details and bookings, contact here |
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Celebrating Responsible Tourism Day with The Blue Yonder and Your Safe Planet The Blue Yonder (TBY) along with Your Safe Planet (YSP) is organising a get together of like minded people to celebrate Responsible Tourism Day (WTM-RTD) at the World Travel Market in London. The idea is to bring enthusiasts, practitioners and supporters of Responsible Tourism together and create a platform to share and learn about recent developments from different parts of the world. Since RTD is on the 14th of November, we thought it would be great to meet up one day before! If you are in London for the World Travel Market don't miss this opportunity to network and meet people everywhere. According to World Travel Market, "WTM World Responsible Tourism Day supported by the UNWTO on Wednesday 14th November 2007 is the first opportunity for travel and tourism to become one powerful and unifying force. A chance to make a real difference that will keep our beaches clean, preserve our stunning scenery, save wildlife and glory in our historic buildings and precious heritage." But all this comes with a responsibility towards the community by working, facilitating and supporting livelihoods of local people through tourism. By being able to create employment, wealth and a healthy lifestyle, tourism can make local communities more self sufficient and protect them from exploitation, corruption and deceit. Further, this could lead to cultural preservation and environmental conservation.” TBY and YSP have been working closely together now for the last one year and it has been an amazing journey to be network many like minded people along the way. TBY has been constantly researching for innovative tourism initiatives based on Responsible Tourism in India and it's been our association with organisation like Sally's YSP that made the journey more exciting. There might be few more seats available for the get together at The Long Acre, in London on the 13th November 2007. For more details visit here |
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TBY and Thashi Lhunpo Monastery bring out a 2008 calendar to support the Buddhist Monastery at Bylakuppe The Blue Yonder (TBY) has brought out an attractive calendar for the year 2008 in collaboration with Thashi Lhunpo monastery in Bylakuppe, Karnataka as a fund raiser for the Buddhist monastery in Bylakuppe. TBY has been working closely with the monastery and supporting their cause for many years now. Reestablished in northern and southern Karnataka, India’s most thriving monastic universities have been passing on the uninterrupted Mahayana tradition of 5th century Nalanda University (Bihar) and Vajrayana practice, as it spread throughout the Himalayan belt and beyond. Read the full article here |
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News and updates on Responsible Tourism
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2007 Condé Nast Traveler World Savers Awards for The Blue Yonder was presented by Mr. Louis D'Amore, head of the International Institute of Peace through Tourism on the 10th of October at the World Savers Congress 2007 held at Gotham Hall in New York City. 
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Copyright © 2007 The Blue Yonder. All photographs, text and images © The Blue Yonder. All rights reserved.