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A Statement
of Concern (K.T.Suresh, (1994), ANLetter, Vol. 3 Issue 1, July)
In this issue of the ANLetter the editorial space is being relinquished
to the Statement of Concern that has been adopted at the Ninth Meeting
of the General Body at EQUATIONS. The process of adoption was one that
involved all levels off functioning in the society and there reflects
the various kinds of concerns.
As EQUATIONS enters its 1Oth year of existence and experience in critiquing
tourism issues in India, it is challenged by several concerns on the
horizon today, a scenario that is likely to persist and extend in both
magnitude and implications as we approach the 21st century.
-
World Bank - IMF led structural adjustment and liberalisation in India
and the promotion of tourism as part of an integrated economic agenda,
heralded by the 'New Economic Policy', especially the implications
of the recent General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS);
- the
evolution of tourism in India from its early 'cultural tourism' days
to aggressive development today: Special Tourism Areas, privatisation
of tourism infrastructure, luxury hotels, proliferation of domestic
airlines, open skies policy allowing charter flights to cater to 'mass
tourism', golf resorts wooing up-market Japanese and European tourists,
multinational and multilateral interests in Indian tourism, opening
up of hitherto 'restless areas' in the Northeast;
- unresolved
questions of land alienation in India, within the context of large-scale
conversion and acquisition of revenue and agricultural land for hotels
golf courses resorts; the ecological implications of tourism in coastal
areas (water sports), high mountain ranges (skiing, winter sports),
off- road and Himalayan car rallies sponsored by multinational companies,
uncontrolled release of solid waste into the natural environment,
inadequate enforcement of sewage treatment requirements by hotels
and its effect on local health and drinking water sources;
- the
destruction off flora and fauna in wildlife and so-called ecotourism,
the relationship between sanctuaries and adivasis, the inequal distribution
of economic benefits;
-
the commodification and museumisation of cultural heritage - art,
artefacts, architecture - and cultural forms - music, dance, related
local traditions as tourist attractions (all in the name of 'heritage
tourism' and 'showcasing’ India);
- the
reality of 'international understanding' at the level of the petty
trader, the hawker, the women and children who prostitute themselves,
and other informal sector 'hangers-on' of the tourist economy;
- drug-peddling,
trade of women and children as commercial sex workers, and their growing
link with international tourism.
As such,
the challenge to concerned people and groups, including ourselves, is
undoubtedly to continue with and push forward efforts that:
- support
local struggles and movements against destructive five- star tourism
in destinations, other than those that are in any way communal, sectarian
or exclusivist.
- raise
at various forums and in various ways fundamental questions about
tourism such as: who benefits and who profits from, who pays for,
and who loses, because of tourism development?
- and,
arising from this evolve conscious holistic policies as alternatives
to the existing models and practices, working with like-minded people
towards these objectives.
Towards
a critique: Some Statements
In
the context of neo-colonisation
- tourism
has to be viewed in the context of a development model which has a
political character;
- tourism
development has taken place along with increased elitism, authoritarianism,
militarism and various forms of State repression in different parts
of the world: all of these are threats to the culture, economy and
empowerment of communities;
- tourism
development along with the globalisation process threatens the sovereignty
of a nation (in the broadest definition of 'nation);
- tourism
eulogises a certain consumptive and luxurious lifestyle which is unsustainable
by any means;
- tourism
as a harbinger of goodwill amongst people is a false propaganda;
- tourism
promotes net outflow of capital to the global market economy, especially
to the so-called developed nations, tourism promotes net flow of capital
to affluent sections internally;
- the
tourism economy promotes the conversion of drugs to cash linked to
the arms trade and,
- tourism
is based on the objectified view of the world where beaches, sanctuaries
and so on are seen as objects of pleasure which negates the sanctity
of the objects as well as of possible meaningful relationships between
peoples and their environments.
We welcome
a wider discussion, and your comments and analysis would be useful in
further sharpening the discourse on tourism in the context of development.
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