NotOnMap Along With Kerala RT Mission Intensifies Focus on Responsible Tourism in its Latest Endeavour

NotOnMap along with Responsible tourism Mission plans to revive Rural Tourism  to transform villages across India into Mawlynnong- the cleanest village in Asia, a product of Responsible and Sustainable Tourism 

New Delhi, October 29, 2020: Responsible Tourism Mission is the nodal agency formed by the Government of Kerala to spread and implement the ideologies and initiatives of Responsible Tourism. In a recent development NotOnMap, a social initiative for the marginalized, indigenous communities across rural India along with Responsible Tourism Kerala came together for a joint endeavour to address the challenges faced by the industry and to encourage Rural Responsible Tourism.

The event hosted by Rupeshkumar K., State Coordinator, Kerala RT Mission witnessed the convergence of the best minds working towards Sustainable Tourism. The event was further headed by an imminent panel bench including Dr. Manoj Kumar Singh, Director (Skill), MP Tourism Board, Raj Basu, Advisor, Arunachal Tourism Board, Manisha Pande, Founding Member, ICRT India and Kumar Anubhav, Founder and Director, NotOnMap along with the eminent leaders of industry as attendees.  

The formation of the Responsible Tourism Mission was to encourage Responsible Tourism principles and practices have led to the emergence of Kerala as a leading world RT destination. The stronger mandate given to the tourism sector in economic and development policy planning, responsible tourism initiatives since its launch in 2007, and formation of the RT mission has led to the emergence of Kerala as a leading RT destination.

The forum also discussed the need to bring in all the elements of Rural Tourism under a common umbrella. Initiating community-level tourism activities is one of the prime deliverables of the mission. They have also stepped in to help the local community generate income directly or indirectly from the sector and train them while looking for alternative approaches that have evolved against the negative impact of ‘mass tourism’.

There exist three kinds of responsibilities - economic, environmental and social - which have been termed the ‘triple bottom line’. Most of the RT mission training is aimed at the womenfolk. The mission is providing women with an opportunity to work at home according to their convenience and earn a living out of it.

Speaking on the occasion, Kumar Anubhav, Founder and Director, NotOnMap quoted, “While the nation was combating the spread of Covid-19 pandemic, we focused on how to boost the rural tourism all over India through Project Travival.  The main objective of this initiative was to help the rural communities by capitalizing on their untapped culture and value heritage. Many industry experts came together to conceptualize, design and execute Project Travival which consisted of 150+ training videos.”

The videos have been framed in over 18 regional languages divided into 12 modules for Homestay owners, Village Panchayats, Teachers/Youth and Women of villages and travellers across India thus covering all stakeholders of ‘Rural Tourism’ in India. The videos not only cover topics around homestay and personal safety and hygiene but also educate people on sustainable practices and homestay business during Covid-19. It is inclusive of all points by international bodies and the Govt. guidelines, includes policies to be followed by the hosts to maintain a guaranteed safe stay.

NotOnMap with their initiatives- TraVival and NotOnMart, plans to support the livelihood of farmers and craftsmen while boosting the revenue generation of rural pockets. With these initiatives, NoM intends to bring in a major impact on rural inclusion, rural education, empowerment, building resilience, and promotion of the youth and elderly about the potential to rise above the standard benchmark of the market value of rural India.