Green Tourism
The other day I came across an interesting description of sustainable development. It described sustainable development as a cow that stands on four legs: use, consumption, protection, and conservation. It went on to add that to enable us to experience the maximum benefits, the cow must be stable on all four legs.
Our cover story this month illustrates the principles of sustainable development with its focus on responsible tourism. As Dr Chris Lucas, who established Cardamom House in 1996 says, Cardamom House sprung from a desire to usher in green practices in tourism. It means, as Jenny Fyans writes in Cardamom House: A Model of Responsible Tourism, "environmental protection and responsible tourism are fundamental to the way he runs his business. Not only is the guesthouse a model of eco-friendly architecture, but everything about the service and the activities on offer revolves around the concept of being environmentally and culturally sensitive to the local area."
Tom Lazenby profiles Dr Chris Lucas and takes us along with him to glimpse at the green vision of this unassuming medical researcher from the UK, whose brand of tourism exposes several inconvenient environmental horrors that we so mindlessly inflict on our surroundings.
Not surprisingly, Cardamom House is among ten tourist resorts from India to be listed as proponents of "green tourism" or responsible; tourism in discerning publications such as the International Travel Guide Book and The Lonely Planet (2007).
The popularity of Cardamom House is entirely through word-of-mouth. The endUring appeal of this home stay reminds us that each of us hasa role and responsibility in the current climate crisis. Protecting the earth is everybody's business. Is anyone listening?
