PAUL MATHEW - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by PAUL MATHEW

Tourism development makes positive difference in the lives of local community; it is the learning... more Tourism development makes positive difference in the lives of local community; it is the learning from Kumarakom. Amidst worries on the negative impact of tourism on environment and society, Responsible Tourism initiative of Kerala at Kumarakom emerged as model destination for sustainable tourism development. The influence of Responsible Tourism initiative made this destination a better place to live and a better place to visit. Grass root level leadership, community involvement, women participation and industry support make this village destination with a population of around 6000 to await for the United Nations accolade-'Global Responsible Tourism Destination'. This paper attempts to articulate the features and impacts of Responsible Tourism in the destination, in compliance with sustainable development principles. The concept of Sustainable Development defined by the Brundtland Report of UN World Commission on Environment and Development goes like this, "meeting the needs of the present without jeopardizing the ability of future generation to meet their needs". While sustainable development focuses on the future generation, Responsible Tourism (RT) envisages a holistic approach by creating a win-win situation between present and future, it is 'about creating better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit'. The success stories from Kumarakom invariably prove that Responsible Tourism paves way for better environment and sustainable livelihood for existing as well as upcoming generations. It is apparent that tourism has a decisive role in the development of local as well as regional economies. The growth of tourism in the recent past across the world was tremendous-in the last decade, tourism industry recorded a growth of over 10%, accounting for 10% of the world's economic activity and is now becoming a key source of business, employment and livelihood. UNWTO predicts that by 2020, the growth of tourism will double the present level. Whilst reading this in line with the emerging mantras like 'faster, inclusive and sustainable growth', tourism has a huge potential in the development of bottom line. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY • To understand the role of Responsible Tourism (RT) in sustainable tourism development of destinations

When the whole world strives to achieve the ambitious goals of United Nations Millennium Developm... more When the whole world strives to achieve the ambitious goals of United Nations Millennium Development Goals, a novel program Responsible Tourism paves way for sustainable development in a small village tourism destination Kumarakom in Kerala. The new approach of MGD hints a shift of the scale of growth from economic terms to human development indicators that reiterates that it is the empowerment of people of bottom level decides the real development of nations. To ensure faster, sustainable and inclusive growth, participation of people from all walks of life is essential especially from the marginalized sector. Lessons from Kumarakom invariably proved that Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and stake holders participation lead towards the achievement of MDG. Considering the multi stakeholder collaboration and community innovation, United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) recognized this initiative with Best Innovation in Public Policy and Governance. Responsible Tourism aims at social, cultural, economic and environmental sustainability has a decisive role in eradication of poverty and hunger, promotion of gender equality and women empowerment, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases and to develop a global partnership for development. This paper presents case study on the Responsible Tourism initiatives at Kumarakom by Kerala Tourism and Kerala State Poverty Eradication Mission and how it charts a new trend in achieving MDG specially G1,G3, G6. G7 and G8.

Bringing robustness to the economic growth and regional development, Tourism fastly becomes the l... more Bringing robustness to the economic growth and regional development, Tourism fastly becomes the largest industry in the world. There are certain fertile areas in tourism, which are not yet utilized its potentials properly. Being a country offer quality service at cheap rates, India entices a large number of travelers seek benefits from Medical tourism. Also, our country is blessed with the state of the art infrastructure and qualified professionals in dentistry that certainly gives a competitive edge. People can travel to India for enjoying their holidays along with fulfilling treatments within a reasonable cost. In this back ground, this study looks in to the status and opportunities of dental tourism in India.

In the wake of globalization and neo liberalism, the concept of contributing for social developme... more In the wake of globalization and neo liberalism, the concept of contributing for social development by business is getting high relevance. It is apparent that a few business enterprises explore and exploit common resources for lucrative purpose and gain momentum at the cost of others. While business are promoted by government by encouraging investment, the procuring of lands, making of decisions, catalyzing innovations and development expects a positive turn. A participative and responsible approach of the business and the Government alone would secure our future and ensure that an inclusive development that favors planet, people and profit happens. CSR, an effective tool for Public Private Partnership (PPP) alone will be able to help countries to meet their ambitious goal of faster, inclusive and sustainable all round development.

Within a short span of time, Community Radio (CR) became voice to the voiceless by connecting peo... more Within a short span of time, Community Radio (CR) became voice to the voiceless by connecting people, bridging the gap between government and public and equipping community to achieve various social goals. Community Radio Stations (CRS) owned and operate by the community helped in bridging the knowledge divide among people by imparting information on education, health, agriculture, environment and culture thereby contributing to their social development and personal empowerment. This article gives a glimpse on the status, operation, opportunities and challenges of CRS in India. ………………………………………………… Being the second largest country in the world in terms of population with diverse culture and different languages, it is hard for the government to reach every citizen especially to the people in rural hinterlands. Though Information Technology (IT) emerged as the panacea for all the issues, still we need to go a long road to achieve our social goals. In this context, the key lies in connecting the masses and linking people with government. When the efforts for amplifying public service broadcasting got robustness, radio-the most widely available and affordable medium of communication for rural community became an active source of information that facilitates grass root level empowerment. Among these initiatives, Community Radio Stations (CRS) make huge difference by filling the knowledge gap among the community, gives voice to the voiceless and produces spectacular results in democracy, empowerment, education, livelihood and various other social indicators. Methodology The main objectives of the study are: • To analyze and examine the status, operation and activities Community Radio (CR) in India • To study the role of Community Radio in the empowerment of people and bridging information gap among rural mass

Global warming and climate change are the buzz words in this era of globalization. When developme... more Global warming and climate change are the buzz words in this era of globalization. When development progress at the cost of poor nations, conservation and management of environmental resources are at risk. The present study argues that since major contributors of climate change are developed countries and the consequences are to be beard by everyone, especially the poorer nations who are the worst victims of the climate change impacts, greater share of responsibility like emission reduction, compensation, technology transfer should be shouldered by developed nations, as underdeveloped and developing countries still need to move more.

Adding more meaning to the evergreen tourism industry, the term 'eco-tourism' has gained wide mom... more Adding more meaning to the evergreen tourism industry, the term 'eco-tourism' has gained wide momentum during the recent past by exploring unseen natural bounty and bringing forth innovative conservation approach. When the never ending quest of human beings to explore the experience of the "exotic" and the "unexplored", socially, culturally and environmentally fragile places become more vulnerable to various impacts. In this juncture, the theme 'develop sustainably and conserve thoughtfully' is being well articulated by various successful sustainable tourism development endeavors world wide. Amongst these, the sustainable strategy of ensuring community participation in both tourism development and environmental conservation for effective destination management in Thekkady requires special emphasis; as it assured sustainable livelihood to the destination community along with guaranteeing the very existence of destination. This paper is an attempt to portray the successful eco-tourism experiences in Thekkady. ABSTRACT

Tourism is often considered as one of the fastest growing sectors in the world. It has a distinct... more Tourism is often considered as one of the fastest growing sectors in the world. It has a distinctive role in industrial growth and regional development. However, unscientific planning and development cause severe repercussions in the life of communities live in destinations. It produces conflict between local community and industry. In order to strike a balance between growth of tourism and community development, positive interventions from the industry seems a need of the hour. This study proposes a frame work for the industry to practice responsible tourism with a goal of achieving sustainable destination management.

When tourism getting momentum globally, a concern irks locally is-is tourism really benefitting t... more When tourism getting momentum globally, a concern irks locally is-is tourism really benefitting the common people in destinations? When ordinary people are forced to jeopardize their convenience for the pleasures of travelers and tour operators, a lion part of the income generated from tourism goes to minority business players. Even though these natural attractions are to be equally enjoyed by all, this paradox remain prevails. Here the novel concept Responsible Tourism (RT) tries to answer many of our apprehensions. This paper reiterates that RT initiative-a strategy to accomplish economic, social and environmental objectives simultaneously shall be the approach for destination management. The Sustainable Tourism Products (STP) and Community Based Tourism (CBT) products emerge as a new strategy for destination marketing, and this Cause Related Marketing (CRM) totally in line with pro-poor, inclusive, and sustainable development concepts creates a win-win situation among community, tourists and industry.

Being Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) evolved as a popular concept in different context of ... more Being Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) evolved as a popular concept in different context of business management; telecommuting becomes a sustainable strategy for sustainable business development. Many organizations offer telecommuting jobs opportunities for Person with Disabilities (PWD), women and people from marginalized sections as part of their affirmative action. When the whole world is very concerned about issues like global warming and climate change, telecommuting can be adopted as an 'alternative' and a viable solution to lessen traffic congestion and infrastructure constraints and thereby to achieve reduced carbon footprint. Present study portrays some opportunities of telecommuting with reference to Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies.

The term ‘sustainability’ emerges as a buzz word in all sectors of development. Achieving sustain... more The term ‘sustainability’ emerges as a buzz word in all sectors of
development. Achieving sustainability in triple-bottom line areas viz;
society, environment, and economy become a point of concern for policy
makers and planners, considering the brewing imbalance prevailing in
the current approach of development. Being a fastest growing industry,
the issue gets much attention in the tourism sector. Though it has a
decisive role in regional development and economic growth, the issue of
overreaching of carrying capacity and the adverse impacts of tourism on
the lives of local residents and environment raise questions on the future
of tourism. Hence also, special attention should be put to maintain
sustainability of tourism destinations. It was in the wake of these
situation, present study endeavored in to development of a stake holder
based scale to measure sustainability of tourism destinations.

When the scale of growth shifts from economic terms to human development indicators, it is the em... more When the scale of growth shifts from economic terms to human
development indicators, it is the empowerment of people of bottom level
decides the real development of nations. To ensure faster, sustainable
and inclusive growth, participation of people from all walks of life is
essential especially for the marginalized sector. The concepts of local
self governance and participatory approach pave way for democratic
decentralization and sustainable development of villages. In par with
these concepts, a novel approach Responsible Tourism (RT) charts new
trend in grass root level empowerment by ensuring involvement of all the
different sectors of society. Here the article articulates the strategies and
institutional mechanism of RT initiatives of Kerala as a strategy for the
empowerment of common people in tourism destinations.

Deterioration of traditions, culture and heritage in tourism destination are often cited as a loo... more Deterioration of traditions, culture and heritage in tourism destination are often cited as a looming crisis. Direct and long exposure of indigenous people towards diverse culture and the community's interest towards economic opportunities sometimes tempt them to move away from the original culture. When financial objectives score over culture and traditions, a need for strategic interventions to preserve and maintain indigenous culture and tradition arise. Empowerment of community to own their own recourses and develop an affective commitment among themselves is a need of this hour. Being Responsible Tourism emerged as a most popular sustainable tourism strategy, present study proposes a theoretical model for sustainable cultural preservation; comprises of Responsible Tourism, material well-being, community engagement, cultural identity, cross cultural interaction, community services, exposure and awareness of the local community, and the commitment of community towards cultural preservation (Sustainable Commitment). ABSTRACT KEYWORDS : Sustainable Development, Responsible Tourism, Cultural Sustainability, Cultural Identity, Material Well-being, Social Empowerment INTRODUCTION The passage of time and the various social, environmental, economic and global impacts render already-fragile places of culture and heritage ever more vulnerable. Lack of scientific preservation and management , unregulated intervention and development, and inadequate financial support add the risk of cultural and heritage destinations. Traditions, Culture, and Heritage are always having a sensible link with tourism which either explore or exploit its opportunities. It is apparent that tourism can effectively nurture and foster these valuable assets, if we keep the agenda of conservation in the forefront of planning and development.