There's a nice idea from Raj Gyawali of Socialtours.com in Nepal who has put together a consortium of Specialist TourOperators under the banner 'The Green Circuit'. His partners are are Socialtours.com in Nepal, Help Tourism in NorthEastern India, Grass Routes in Orissa, East India, The Blue Yonder in Kerala and Ecosphere in Spiti Valley, NorthernIndia. Each tour operator, is an expert in their respective region and specialise in deep rooted community based responsible tourism initiatives.
This is unusual in itself since these operators would normally be competing against each other to get business and here they are working in unison. Each tour operator is a committed expert in their chosen field and offer unique tourism product specific to local environmental and cultural conditions
With the GreenCircuit you have a unique collective of operators dedicated to ethical and sustainable tourism at a grassroots level. The accountability is much higher because they work in the very same communities they conduct their tours.
The GreenCircuit is an eco-tourism loop that circles the Indian subcontinent. Made up of individual tours with a definitive focus on natural and cultural heritage; each tour (handled on the ground through respective operators) links together to explore the subcontinent's astounding diversity.
There are many benefits here. A lot of theory on responsible tourism already exists, but actual documented accounts and practical tips from the grassroots is rare, at least as far as the Indian Sub-continent is concerned. While each operator will have indigenous solutions for their respective areas, there is always scope for different perspectives to shed light on common problems. Here there can be dialogue between operators traditionally isolated by geographic distance and a conscious decision to focus efforts on the field. It provides a perfect platform to share experiences, develop ideas and grow collectively.
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