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Myriad Faces Of Tourism  |
| September 04, 2010 |
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| With diverse experiences and research in sustainable tourism, EQUATIONS has the wherewithal to justifiably turn into an advisory... |
| The Equal and Opposite Effect |
| August 30, 2010 |
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| We have never before witnessed such a huge multi-billion rupee racket as the Commonwealth Games in... |
| State tourism policy scrutinized by various concerned organizations |
| August 29, 2010 |
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| The second and the final day of the Regional Consultation on Responsible Tourism in the North Eastern States of... |
| NE Tourism conference has an eye for future prospects |
| August 26, 2010 |
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| A two-day regional consultation on responsible tourism in the North Eastern states of India kicked off this... |
| NE tourism stakeholders to brainstorm at Gangtok for responsible tourism code |
| August 25, 2010 |
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| A two day regional consultation on ‘responsible tourism’ in the North-eastern region of India organized by... |
Karnataka
- Key Interventions
- Resources
- Overview
Here you can find the Key Interventions (Campaigns, Events and Other Interventions) related to this State. These can be sorted year wise. On clicking a Title, you can read online and download the respective Key Intervention.
Presently, Key Interventions from the year 2006 to 2009 are available.
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Here you can find Resources (Papers, Publications and Presentations) linked to this State. These can be sorted year wise. On clicking a Title, you can read online and download the respective Resource. Please do acknowledge EQUATIONS when quoting from or using these resources in any manner.
Presently, Resources from the year 2006 to 2009 are available.
Filter By Year :
Karnataka ranks high on domestic tourist visits among the Indian states. Successive governments have emphasized development of tourism infrastructure particularly through the public – private partnership model. The Karnataka Tourism Policy 2002-2007 highlights the need for private participation in developing infrastructure facilities, promoting ecotourism, development of circuits and aggressive marketing for promotion of tourism. Series of investor meets and road shows have raised hopes that once issues of regional linkages, connectivity, accommodation and lack of financial resources, seen as the main hindrances to developing tourism in Karnataka government have been addressed , the future looks bright. Beaches, hills, pilgrimage, heritage, golf, wildlife and adventure have been the products that Karnataka has thrived on. Newer forms like medical tourism, education tourism, IT tourism, health tourism, and business / conference tourism are lauded as out of the box thinking - the mantra being - more diverse the products the more the growth of tourism. Our engagements have focussed on the other side of tourism, particularly highlighting impacts on coastal and heritage tourism. The landmark legal battle in the Nagarhole case in 1996-98 helped establish the rights of adivasis to their “homeland” over forces like corporate led tourism. In a state that has long sold out to neoliberal forms of economic development, such battles for securing people’s rights is an ongoing process.Our engagement with tourism issues in the state began with a workshop for Journalists in Karnataka in 1989. In 1990, a workshop on Tourism Environment and the Law in which groups and individuals from Dakshina Karnataka also participated stimulated greater networking and plans for collaborative work. In the programme on Tourism Education we have reported various initiatives with colleges and schools in Dakshin and Uttara Karnataka in this period.
In an important intervention where a team from EQUATIONS “walked” the west coast of Karnataka and Kerala, a report titled Status of the West Coast analysed the situation on the ground and enhanced further the possibility of contacts and networking. In the State Tourism Master Plan 1997-2002, a stretch of 320 km of the coastal belt of the state was declared as Special tourism Area (STA), in complete disregard of the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 1991. EQUATIONS campaigned against the proposal and questioned the violations on the Karnataka coast.
Golf Resort planned near Murudeshwara Beach, Karnataka, 20061991 was the Visit India Year. EQUATIONS researched tourism’s impact in Karnataka. In September 1991 a workshop on Third World Tourism and Dakshin Kannada was organised by YANA, then a newly formed group in Mangalore. In the 1992-95 period we engaged with studying tourism development in Hampi, Thaneerbhavi and Maravanthe and critiqued the Karnataka tourism policy. Monographs on Gokarna, Maravanthe Majali were produced highlighting impacts of tourism. “In 2002- 2003, EQUATIONS investigated the Pilikula “Model” Tourism Project to understand its impacts. Most local people were kept out of decision making processes and the investigation helped them to get mobilised to demand a role in the form and benefits from tourism. More recently, in 2007-09, we have engaged with the developments in Hampi in the process of critiquing the Hampi Master plan 2006 and strengthening networks. The Hampi World Heritage Area Management Authority and UNESCO are bodies playing key roles in evolving strategies for tourism development in this World Heritage Site. We have also engaged in tourism development issues in other ecologically fragile areas in the Western Ghats and engaged in campaigns with environmental and peoples groups engaged in protection of the Western Ghats.
This high profile legal battle, not surprisingly, went through many twists and turns. A single Bench of the Karnataka High Court allowed the plea and directed that the possession be reverted to the State Government. Aggrieved, two of the respondents filed two separate appeals in the High Court in 1996. These were clubbed and a three member division bench set aside the earlier judgement and allowed the appeal with some conditionalities. Aggrieved that this implied a post facto clearance by the Central Government under the Forest conservation Act, the original petitioners Nagarhole Budakattu Hakku Sthapana Samithi and others, filed a Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court of India in 1997. The Supreme Court reserved judgment until the decision of the Central Ministry of Environment and Forest regarding clearances was at hand. In 1998, MoEF rejected the application of M/s. Gateway Hotels and Gateway Resorts Ltd under the Forest Conservation Act and the project was stalled. We describe this legal battle in such detail to illustrate how difficult it is for local communities to retain their rights in the face of powerful vested interests even when the laws of the land are clear.
Karnataka has been a favoured destination for the World Bank and Asian Development Bank for financial operations and policy advice. Policies on many of its basic amenities such as health care services, education, urban infrastructure and water supply are being driven by Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs). These policies are being pushed through loan conditions and direct financing by transnational corporations. In the light of growing investments in Karnataka, there has been growing regional disparity in terms of economic and social development. We have been actively involved in the debate in the state on the influence of International Financial Institutions on policy spaces in the state. In 2007, EQUATIONS supported the campaign against the proposed amendment of the Karnataka Panchayati Raj Act 2007. This was a regressive move as it violates the constitutional authority and mandate of the Panchayats.
We have had a consistent engagement with tourism teaching institutions, particularly as we are based in Bangalore. This is reported in detail in the Tourism Education section. Interns and volunteers have also tended to focus research on issues lined to Bangalore. “Bangalore - A Global City? Virtual realities and Consumer identities” explored the phenomenon of a global economy and culture comprising of young knowledge professionals in the business outsourcing sector exists in parallel, yet consciously alienated from the local economy and culture. The links with infrastructure and the growth of urban tourism in and around Bangalore’s periphery with the boom in outsourcing sector is also addressed. Investigations into privatisation of lakes, use of water in hotels and employment of women in the hotel sector have been research studies primarily done by interns focussing on Bangalore and tourism issues. The issue of privatisation of public water bodies, tanks and lakes for tourism has been another area of engagement and solidarity with local groups ESG and Hasiru Usiru who filed a PIL in the High court on the issue, and received a favourable judgement.
Click on the 'Resources' Tab to read Karnataka related papers, publications and presentations.
Click on the 'Key Interventions' Tab read Karnataka related campaigns, events and interventions.
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