The prestigious title was given to Kerala Tourism at the World Travel Market or WTM London 2022 for the state government’s STREET project that promotes responsible tourism.
The Tourism Ministry of India was an active participant at the World Travel Market (WTM), which commenced on November 7 in London this year. India joined in to exhibit itself as a favourite tourist destination among global travellers at the three-day event, where the theme this time was ‘The Future of Travel Starts Now’.
While that in itself is an achievement enough, Kerala Tourism bagged the prestigious Responsible Tourism Global Award, further strengthening the position of the country among global tourism leaders. The award was given for state government’s STREET project implemented by the Responsible Tourism Mission. The coveted title recognised the tireless efforts that the entire team has put in to promote responsible tourism since the beginning of COVID-19.
P A Mohammed Riyas, the state tourism minister for Kerala, received the award on behalf of the department. “I would like to share with you with utmost pride that the state’s Responsible Tourism Mission and the tourism department have together won the award for the STREET project. STREET is the acronym for Sustainable, Tangible, Responsible, Experiential, Ethnic, Tourism hubs, and this was implemented from March 31, 2022,” Riyas said in a video message on Tuesday.
The STREET is a water protection and conservation project in tourism sector implemented with public participation. As per the reports, the jury made special remarks about the initiative implemented at Maravanthuruthu in Kottayam district. The project aims to deepen the canals and various waterbodies, and clean them for the purpose of tourism activities.
As part of it, eco-friendly coir cloth is draped over the banks of waterbodies. The ‘Coir Bhoovastra’, as it is called, is a natural earth cover made from coconut fiber used to stop erosion during monsoon season. Furthermore, Kayaking was introduced at many places, a tourism department source told PTI.
Arvind Singh, the Union Tourism Secretary, supervised this year’s Indian delegation. The Indian government additionally initiated a number of strategies to designate the country as a worldwide tourism destination. At WTM London 2022, the Indian contingent displayed the diversified tourism contributions of the country to the worldwide tourism sector stakeholders, namely the travel media and the agents along with the tour workers.
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