Alternative Network Letter Vol 5 No.3-Sep 1989-EQUATIONS

12
We invite Network members to contribute to the Network Letter
NETWONK
sharing their work, dlUI plans through these
NEWS
Communication is vital to the life of a
NOUNDUP physical distances cannot easily be bridged
ISTRAD, Ludnow. India EQUATIONS, Bafl'Qalo'l'e
ISTRAD, the Indidn Society for loumm Research & In late we hosted 2 meetings. Thefirst, in collaboration with
of the Centre for lourism Re5earch. tounded by Tej Vir and PENFRIEND, a collective of young journalists, was an attempt to understand
ISTkAD has a small resource centre. does' research. and the role of media, especially responsible media, in the context of Indian tourism
seminars on variullo aspects 01 tourism. open to scholars dnd issues. About 15 persons participated, representing a wide range of print media
others internationally. ISTRAD proposes a seminar in 1990, on Third World Karnataka.
Tourism (Strategies for Sustainable Development), and would appreciate As a to our 1988 study on the impact of tourism on coastal south
enquiries from potential participants. Write to Ms. Shalini Singh, ISTRAD. we met with members of the National Fishermen's Forum, atrade union
A-965/6 Indiranagar, Lucknow - 226 016. of traditional fisherfolk. Both meetings resulted in forfuture action, and
reports wi II soon be Clvailahle from us.
GoenRaranchi Fouz. Goa
The JGF or Vigilant Coans Army, which celebrated 2 years of its existence in
has cal It'd for a boycott of the Ramada Hotel in Coa. I:l Octoher 1988, RESOURCES
the )GF filed a writ petition' in the Iligh Court against the Ramada. citing
The View from the Countryside: Some Basic Notes about Perceptions on
vioiations of and construction norms. In April 1989, a special leave
Tourism of the Host Communities, by Thelma Cataquis et ai, Centre foi
petition was in the Supreme Court. the court-appointed
Tourism, Rm. 103, L. J. Henson Bldg., 494 Soldado Street, Ermita,
presented a negative report on the Ramada, hoth the courts ru led
favour of the hotel. The JGF has asked for wide to the details of
the case, and tor letters of protest to the Goan and Union governments.
endeavours to delineate the different of the affected local
::.ay that pressure must be built to prevent accreditation of the Goa Ramada by
pOPUlation on the impact of tourism (In Puerto a Filipino town. Based
Ramada InternJtional. Write to Proi. Sergio Carvalho, 2 Liberty Apts., Feira Alta,
survey, it affirms previously maintained positions on the impacts
Mapusa, Goa - 403 507, India.
lalleo tourist traffic, and documents and negative effects on
population. The significance of the lies in its
of small communities to carrv out their own to determine
illterveni ng in a situation of to them.
The Cook Islands Tourist Industry: Ownership and Planning, by Simon Milne,
in PaC/i?e Viewpolilt, 28 (2), 119-138, 1987.
This studv analyses the effectiveness of the stated objective of maximising
for the local community in income and employment generation
tourism in the Pacific Cook Islands. It discusses the patterns of owner-
and accumulation, and observes that present tourism trends have
to ach ieve the Government's In cond usion, the study suggests
that apart from the purely economic the way in which local
can participate in, and receive benefits tourism needs to be taken
consideration while planning for the
The Responsive Traveller's Handbook, Centre for the Advancement of
Travel, 70, Dry Hill Park Road, Tonbridge, KentTN10 3BX, United
HELP Asian Women's Shelter. To1<yo. JdPiln
Kingdom.
at the July meeting at Sri Thai land. Mizuho Matsuda of HELP,
The first edition of the Responsive Traveller's H,lIldbook dims at providing better
suggested that at the roots of the entertainment industry in JJpan (which
links between growing numbers of travellers, tour operators, trawl agents and
thousands of Asian women) are factors like the traditinn:.l
I
"
host peoples concerned to improve existing styles of pleasure and business
Japanese culture, tht' working day, and the f,;"h"",(;t
tourism. The first part introduces and offers on
nature of the ADart from, of course, the
rrd\!elll'ng. The second is an introduction to the Idea of alternatives
unemployment conditions the countries from where
;J,h!prc;plv affect the hosts or their environment. The final
mostly Thailand and the The HELP Shelter
of resDonsive t"lYel ODDortunities, both
services to women who it, including assistance with
rehabilitation dnd repatridtion. Write to Mizuf:o at HELP. Japan Women\
Christian Temperance Union, 2-23-5 Hyakunin-cho, Shinjuku-ku, 169.
Tourism and Environment in Thailand: National Parks for Sale, Ecumenical
Coalition on Third World Touri<;m, P() Box 24, Chorakhebua.. Bangkok lO230,
Department of GOd University
Thailand
Alito Siqueir.1, d lecturer tit the University. appro2ciwd us ('c)rly year lur
information on tourism, intt'nding to develop part of an MA in GOdn
A compi la!ion of clippings and e<.iitorials from the Post and !/If> Nrlt/0/7
culture ;1Ild We are delighted to hear from Alito that the University on the proposal of tlw Tourism Authority ofThailand to open up Thai national
h,)'; approwd course, which will foclis on the impacts of tourism, and parks for private tourism deve:opnwnt. Economists, environmentalists and legcll
the current debdte on tourism in COd. Lecturers will include' those who haw
experts argue thilt of national pdrks threatens the country's last
bf'cn Ifl the forefront of the struggle, like Sergio Carvdlho of the j(;F. We art'
irreplace,lble genetic of plant clnd anirnell specips.
to d ('oncern, and
the naturdl Pflviroflillent by
Piluk('t
P1,bli,hed by. [qL.itlhlc Option, (EQUATIONS). ')(,. II C"lu!lY. :,ld I, j),lf1i:di()((' r;w J W. INDIA.
ilnd R,'vi'lidlity DigltN'ci [')1,,·,..,1111'; d HI Crc'i1hlC D!"lgll. I,IV"II,' Ru,(d, Bdng,ilo:('. indl,1.
ALTERNATIVE NETWORK LETTER
A Third World Tourism Critique
For Private Circulation Only Vol. 5 No.3 September 19H9
S
PEAKING with a friendly waiter at a beach-side restaurant at Kovalam
Kerala's 'premier' resort j enquired whether the 'arrack'
Silent Country
liauor) some tourists wpre being served was distilled from the coconut
By Edouard Bailby
what we tell them, actually it's made in the village: he
F
OR decades, Albania's three milli.on have lived In near
a chemical concoction, quite likely a health
isolation from the rest of the world. Since the end of World Wdr II, the
This to me was yet another example of the invariable victimisation
country has severed long-standi ng relations with its three main ideo
tourism. The tourist gladly pays for genuine fakes - 'hey, that's
logical allies - Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic
- and is hardly expected to know that, for exampie, illegally brewed
in that order. Enver Hodxa, the man who led Albania into independence in
arrack has been the cause of hundreds of deaths in India. The host community,
1945 and remained the country's top leader until his death in 1985 ilt age 77,
equally, smilingly accepts the small change that is thrown its way by itinerant
used to say, "We'll eat grass if we must but we'll remain independent:' In fact,
visitors, and pays eventually with irreparable loss of culture and identity. All
the Socialist People's Republ ie of Albania has willi ngly renounced the assistanCl'
for the sake of an immediate economic benefit, instant gratification.
of its former friends in favor of the Marxist-Leninist concept of a dictatorship
The tourism whirlpool is a never-ending vicious circle, expanding its contours
of the proletariat.
all the while. trapping numbers in its wake. As
visited Albania for the first time in 1971. As a reporter for the Paris-based
offer traditional hosoitalitv. Cultural exchange
! was - after lengthy negotiations ­
a feat. Only half-a-dozen Western
Short Term Highs
permit from the I irane ar.\I·»rnmpnt
Seventeen years later, on French magazine Ceo, I again set foot
economic advantages are touted by city-based intellectuals and the media. The
on Albanian territory - this time holding a collective visa as a member of a
governments follow suit, offering massive incentives to the travel and hotel
small group of tourists. For an entire week I traveled allover the country,
industry - the taxpayer ends up subsidising the coffers of some distant capitalist,
from north to south on a bus owned by the state-run tourist agency, since no
domestic or multinational.
other means of transportation was available. Indeed, it is sti II illegal to own an
India is estimated to have earned Rs. 1890 crores (depending on the source, automobile in Albania, where private cars are seen as symbols of the "selfishness
estimates differ!) during 1988, representing more than a third of the deficit in
of capitalism:' In addition, no foreigner is allowed to travel alone in the
the current account balance of payments. The focus of national planning ti II
and it is next to impossible to arrange for accommodations with
an infrastructure (or industridl development
base. The first objective has been reasorlablv visit the country. All he or she has to
have trained their guns on other economic sectors, in Albanian trips in the small French
an I mportant one. some to cover room-and-board and
of the National Commission on Tourism submitteo last year is must one be a member of some militant
current tourism policy. Apart from official members, every other
to the Tirane regime.
member of the commission represents the growing luxury hotel lobbies. It is
The truth is that Albania is slowly and timidly beginning to open up to the
hardly surprising therefore thelt the thrust is on the high-growth, high-profile, rest of the world. In 1988, the country received over 12,000 Western tourists.
high-profit, five-star mass tourism market. A Tourism Finance Corporation has None, however, from Europe. "We dOl)'! expect dllything from thCN:'
been established with an outlay of Rs. 1000 crares, its funds earmarked for loans people," said government officials we occasiorldllv met, "Ileithcr nor
to private sector hotel industry. Tax exemptions, subsidised water and electricity,
undcrstJnding of our problems." Despite the recent deterioration of relatiolls
assistance with land acquisition, soft loans from a variety of financial and
as a result of problems involving tho Albanian millority ill
government agencies, and so on, have all been announced in the government's
Kosovo, a small of AlbaniCln touri:,ts was recently allowed to visit soutlwrtl
search for the pot of gold at the end of the tourism rdinbow. YUgOSldvl,l to' time in ,ewrdl yt'ar,>.
From the cultural tourism of the past, which largely consisted of ci(Jhkno;nn Whoever travel" by bus in Albania, as most tourists
. shifts to recreational '-,('C' that thi<; "mall,W,OOO-square kilometer
beaches, daredevil whit(Lvvater the COdst, in the fields on the outskirh
on the Himalavan slopes. Even some gates, Ollf' Cdn 5('(' thOUC,clncb of ['))('Il,lCing
in the rest of the
Such plane; no evidence of hindsight or longsight, instead only of
looking through tinted with greenbacks. Tourism offici,lls equivocate'
INSIDE
with pldtitudinollsly voiced ecological concerns, offering little proof that their
Hope for Pattaya 4
includ<:' strategies for environmental conservation. It is heartening,
to l10te the increasing number of groups raising regarding Post Card Cremation 8:
the dir('(tion of our tourism development. Ti me it to cOllle together and ,let
Tourism Concern 11

Network, News Roundup 12
Paul Gonsalves
wrought in concrete or earth. Built in the late 19605 following the Soviet invilsion
of Czechoslovakia, these round-shaped fortifications have room for no more
than one man and his rifle or machine gun, and it is difficult to conceive how
they might help offer more than token resistance to a modern army. Yet they
are a reminder that the cult oj resbtance to foreign intruders remains deeply
ingrained in the Albanian soul.
Albania has sufTered invasions throughout its history. crueiest and longest
occupation, by Turkey, Idsted five centuries, ending relatively recently, in 1912.
the' exception of 25-year interlude in the 15th century, only twile has
the 5mall Balkan natiol1 iOlllld itself free from foreign rule-in the interval
iJetween the twe world wars and from 194
1
1to date. It was in 1944 that a guerrilla
"truggle led by Enver Hodxa, then a teacher at the French in Korce, asmall
southeast(:>rn town managed to free the country from Nazi occupation - an
Ilmrecedented feat, accomplished with no outside help. It is no wonder, then,
Albanians are fiercely nationalistic.
Prior to 1944,. Albania was Furope's most backward
rate of 80 percent, no universities, very few doctors and
few olaces of entertainment. The country had no railroads either.
Albanian peasants, and (inset) national hero, Skanderbeg
Albania is still poor when compared with the
rest of Europe. Nevertheless, Albanians live today above the DOVCrtv level: there
are jobs for everyorle and health care is provided free by
When traveling in the countryside, I saw no or
Vegetable stores and small shops, usually modest in appearance, offer a variety
of basic foodstuffs and products and customers do not have to wait in !ine
for two or three hours as they do in the Soviet Union. People are reasonably
well dressed, although jewelry and fancy clothing are conspicuously absent
from feminine apparel. Albanian children do not play with toys like their
Western counterparts; their parents make rag dolls or put together wood-and­
wire toy cars.
With the exception of a monument erected in
who i:, said to have used herds of gOdts to help
amJ Enver Hodxa's tomb set on Tiran('\ highest spot - hath of
but simple I saw no adorned artwork. Albania is a
who lead modest lives. Apartment buildings,
eSSen(ldl\ recall the collective housing found in some poor
n ..iphborhoods. The tourist would be hard put to find a luxurious
house or that would symbolically distinguish state or party officials
:rom the rest of True to its ideology; Albania ha<;
none with All Albanian workers earn between .500 and
1,000 {US$l which makes the top s,llafY
2
double the lowest. All soldiers wear the same uniform in the army: officers
from their suhordinates only by an additional star or two.
for the official cars at the service of ministries
buses or motorcycles, Albania is a silent
cows, trucks and
i1 SIght that can be seen nowhere else in
Few tractors or modern machines are used for plowing: everything is done
mostly by women, since most men hold factory jdJs. At midnight
I watched a lonely street sweeper from my hotel window in downtown
Tirane (population 250,000) as he methodically tidied up the square's walkwavs.
If any late night pedestrian happened across the sqUdre, the sweeper
back to erase the foot
By day, the Albanian capital is a fJ"ULCI UI,
the neurotic hubbub of our metropolises
and no pollution. After a 17-year
downtown Tirane were two new traffic
museums where the extraordir
The old statues of Stalin and Lenin
Heroes.
Ti rane's main mosque remains closed to the
the government shut down ali of the country's churches, mosques and
synagogues, not a single religious temple has opened its
The cathedral in Shkoder, in northern Albania, was once one of the major
CatholiC temples in southeastern Europe; now it is a sports center. In the Adriatic
resort of Durres, the local mosque has been turned illto a cultural center,
complete with a dance hall. In Berat, a small town in central Albania, I saw
two warehouses installed on what used to be the main floor of a mosque.
Albania is probably the only country in the world where religion is outlawed.
The only available copy of the Bible is kept at the National Library in Tirane.
Albanian authorities have been seeking to put new life into principal churches
and Orthodox chapels by tuming them into public museums. They all sport
a banner above the main entrance ('voking a phrase by Hodxa proclaiming the
value of old national
that 6,000 icons are
that, in addition to its historical sites at Butrint and Apollonia - dating back
from Roman and Greek times -- Albania has an abundance of
mosques and chapels attesting to the fundamental role religion played in
consolidating the nation's culture.
But Albania has more to distinguish itself from the rest of the world than the
fact that religion and public worship have been banned under the constitution.
It is also the only country in the world where the prices of basic goods have
remained stable for 45 years - some thing that Brazi lians, Israelis and Chileans
may find hard to believe. And there's more: the price of sugar dropped
from 10 leks to 8 leks a kilo. Better salaries have risen steadily since
end of World War II, while the gap between minimum and maximum wages
has shrunk. All this is part of the Albanian reality, although it might be
considered absurd by capitalist free market adherents.
Regardless of what people may think, it is worth exploring how and Why a
country has managed to keep prices stable for 4S year,> without suffering an
economic and financial catastrophe. To be sure, Albania still lives off resources
that may seem archaic to us in the West. Some 350 kilometers of railroad have
been built by brigades of young volunteers who have also planted thousands
of vineyards and olive trees on the mountain slopes in the south. The Socialist
People's Republic of Albania remains an agricultural nation that exports wine,
olives, nuts and sheep to the rest oi Europe - but it is also the world's third
producer of chromium, trailing only the Soviet Union and South Africa.
to its hydroelectric potential, Albania also exports electric power to five
European nations, including Austria, and may soon exporting oil.
In 1989. Albanian officials are scheduled to attend mini<:tnJ-! ..vpl
in southeastern Europe. The results of those
whether this country, which at present keeps diplomatIC
with 100 other ndt;ons, plans to open up
independence.
THIRD WORLD, April 1989
11
Tourism Concern Activities
In d previous issue oiANt we had announced the iormation ol the Tourism
Concern Network in England. Below are listed projects, both ootential and
in which membels of the steering group are engdged.
Education: Irmut into production of a leaflet on tourism and ,..jP\lolnnmnnt
lpanying workshop in a school's
Centre for World Development Education (C\lVDE), schor!. ,(,,<1
Production of source based materials on tourism'S impact
\Jew College Durham. Production of
schools pack on tourism in the Third
of three BlickwC'chse! film for tourists. Producing
for teachers. Developing cl worbhop on tourism
• Developing a session on tourism's impact.
Public /Tourist Education: DeSign and implementation of a project to mount
an exhibition along the lines of the European Tourism with Insight stand.
the most of your Holiday. Responsive Traveller's
'.
:nfluencing Tourism Development: Consultations for dGldemics, writers, tour
operators exploring is<;lJPs. (May 24th The Social Dimensions of
Tourism) • Criteria for Tourism Development·· circulating their criteria to
donor agencies involved in World Development Projects, Or1 behalf of TEN
(Third World l()urism European Network) .. Contact with Intasun rf'v;lrrliniJ
operation in Goa.
Supporting Alternatives: Production of a Responsive Traveller's Handbook,
with suggestions for non 'package' travel. Circulation of leaflet on small-scale
tourism initiatives in Asia to independent travellers, with requests tor feedback.
For details wntact: Alison StdncliHe, 8 St. Mary's Terrace, Ryton, Tyne and Wear,
NE40 3AL U.K.
Sexual Assault in Pattaya
Pattaya last month was assaulted. For various
have earned a notorious reputation for
of vice, and simplv leaving crimes and their
to take the woman back to her
taken to Jomtien beach and
at the hotel knew what Anne had
to an hour later,
THE NATION, Bangkok, 31 July 19SQ
THAILAND: Anti-AIDS campaign
number OIle health threat, and is
, ' relations experts to launch a
allli-KlV,) The Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan and
chief Chava!it Yongchaiyudh have agreed to support the campaiqn
AIDS.
has gained notoriety as a major destination for sex
and recent surveys showed 3,000 prostitutes here were carrying the
virus (HIV). Tn addition, an estimated 44,000 heroin addlcts here are also
HlV carriers.
the anti-AIDS drive is Mr. Mechai Viravaidhya, a marl who is
for Thailand's highly-successful mass education
population control. Mr. Mechai masterminded gimmicks like
conrJnm-hlnwino cOlltests and free vasectoflljes on the King's birthday to
planning in Thailand.
"People want the government to do more and encourage others to do
more," said Mr. Mechai in an interview.
In the Dast Thailand, like other developing countries troubled
attempted to keep official statistics under wraps
discussion about AIDS in public. Some observers have speculmea
Thai officials were protecting a flourishing sex industry
millions of tourists to the country in recent years.
A priority in the government campaign will be the country's network
of massage parlours and brothels for Thais and foreig ners. Cllofficidl
estimates of the total number of prostitutes in Thailand range from
to
1101l0lJU ;:,ay that if continues unabated,
the virus will cut a rapid and deadly course through the populace. The
officials also fear that a widespread AIDS outbreak will strain the
country's limited public health facilities.
A law requiring brothel owners to cooperatE will be
enforced later this year, with mil
not testing, has become the Thai
organisations have
and a number of them have
ness programmes of their own. One such camDaiqner
homosexual who has a jazz dance
gay bars.
TIMES OF INDIA, 18 Auguq 1989
Saving The Periyar
and private agencies, local bodie5 and
Qrganisations have come forward to save Periyar, the river in Ker,lld, frolll
and other problems.
Periyar is considered the main lifeline of Keraf:a as the state derives m;lIlifold
benefits from the river including power generation irr;,,,,ti,,,,
development, industrial activity,
construction.
contributed
Sanctuary, Ihekkady and tht> B(;thclthankettu ReservOir
for boat cruiSing ilrc potential tourist
According to a recent study, the waters of once to I){'
curative, are highly polluted now. The rivpr (,l1H101 be lbPd (''It'll tor d hdth.
Thf' industries dependent on the Periyar punm ,lbollt 13 Itlkh ()f
effluents into it d'lily. This h(lS affecwd fi:;hing and often lhe dWllli(
that fln,ll up d(wL
Some 300 delegates e'lVironment,llists, scientists, goV('rnnH'rlt of/it i<ll, dlld
industrialists, clssembled on June'lrd under ,1 pandal spt lip hpsici(' the fhlVdi
were tilerl' for oreiiminarv 011 dll dclion nl,m to "S,lVP
INDIAN fXPRESS. 4 jllllC I'm'); ,v.. DECCAN HERALD. II Jt;m' 1'!Wl
10
Travellers' Tales
Granta 26: TRAVEL, Sprin9 1989, Penguin Books, UK
The art of travel writing is probably as old as Megasthenes, the Greek
traveller whose meticulous recording of India in the fourth century BC
was the forerunner of many later ventures in the genre. The British were
the ones who honed it to a skill. The expansion of Empire had probably
something to do with it - the need to explain, to evoke, the lands coming
under the Pax Britanica to the folks back home. lt was also the Age of
Explorations, when intrepid travellers penetrated to places where no
white man had set foot before and 'discovered' them, so to speak, in print.
Thus Wilfred Thesiger traversed the Empty Quarter, Richard Burton
sought Arabia (thus setting the trend for the whole 'Laurence of Arabia'
school of writing), Alexandra David Neel went off to find magic and
mystery in Tibet, and so on.
The key work in all this was 'exotica'; this brave band were seeking the
mysterious, the marvellous, the bizarre. Their descendants, however, ­
say, Laurence Durrell, Geoffrey Moorhouse, even V. S, Naipaul- had an
added aim. Their impulse was to seek the very soul of a society. Through
the vivid, telling prose, the descriptions of scenery, architecture and
random conversations, they were after the single leitmotif - an incident
or anecdote - which would explain the entire ethos, culture, philosophy
and very probably the future too of the place they were writing about.
To this has been added yet another element: politics. Much contem­
porary writing on distant, unknown places originates as reportage - the
wars, the famines, the disasters, Somehow, all the still unknown worlds
(unknown to the West, that is) seem at the mercy of totalitarian rulers,
beset by colonialism, underdevelopment and poverty. The human
condition of those who live in such locations, their environments, their
threatened cultures, can all be traced in some way to the functioning of
their political structures.
The selection of travel writing in Cranta 26 (Spring 1989 issue) all bears
witness to this. The questions this anthology poses on its back cover
are revealing: 'What kind of writing do travel writers write now( How long
can the exotic remain exotic?' These questions are revealing because
all but two of the essays are on third world countries (Africa has the
largest share) and the Eastern Bloc. The two essays that deal with the
first world - both on the American Midwest are devoid of any political
slant whatsoever. It is as if in these days of easy travel, of open frontiers
and the all-seeing eye of television, the last resort of the exotic is totali­
tarianism.
The essays in this book are of a formidably high quality. Ryszard
Kapuscinski's laconic exegesis of life in ldi Amin's Kampala (,Christmas
Eve in Uganda') is a masterpiece of prose. He describes his efforts to buy
fish in this frightened, malevolent town; the arrival of a truck laden with
fish was at first greeted with delight, then by fear and revulsion. The fish
were from the lake at Port Bell, the same lake in which corpses from ldi
Amin's torture chambers were dumped, that explained the fat, sleek
Costly Everest Climb
quality of the merchandise.
The political message is more explicit in Jeremy Harding's 'Polisario',
.Mountaineers win have to climb over trash from previous expe­
an account of the long, expensive, undeclared war in the Sahara and of
.. ditionsto get to the top of Mount Everest, and pay more to do it
the enormous wall the Moroccans built which the desert wind and sand
starting this season. ConselVationists have called for amoratorium
is already eroding. Harding's account in enlivened by the chaos in his own
qndimbin:gMt Everest because it is polluted by rubbish, but cash- .
private life: his fears that his wife might leave him for a German architect
strapped Nepal seems to need the money. Nepal's Tourism Ministry, I
who was wooing her with outsize boxes of chocolates.
whic:hcoordin:ates climbing activities in the Himalaya. this week.;. .
The note of personal self discovery is also sounded in Colin Thubron's
announced steeper autumn rates for mountaineering expeditions. I
account of making a television documentary on the Old Silk Route and
the artifice they had constantly to resort to make it look 'real' on the box,
Norman Lewis on Siam and Ian Buruma on Taiwan are both requiems for
dying cultures - the authentic Taiwanese one being swamped today by
a mix of mainland Chinese, Jnd American Kitsch; allel the
trilditional Thai way of life being losllo eilter AIlIericana .. a mix of
"drinking whiskey, danring in puhlic ilnrl strip lease", The tone is
more-in-sorrow-than anger, but in fact neither emotion really gets
through.
The essays on the Soviet Union are immeasurably more powerful,
possibly because the overly moral tone is lacking. Bruce Chatwin (to
whose memory this volume is dedicated) has three very short pieces, but
they convey the flavour of pre-glasnost life, for instance in the terse
portrait he draws of Nadezhda Mandelstamlying on rumpled sheets, out
of official favour, longing for trashy thrillers and English marmalade.
Similarly, Patrick Cockburn (Notes from Abroad: Moscow) describes a
foreign correspondent's life as glasnost was creaking into action and the
Soviets, slowly but surely learnt the previously purely western art of
saccharine public relations. His last sentence gives away the hidden
assumption in most of the pieces in this volume: "I missed the sense of
exclusion, of being a permanent outsider. lt was time to leave".
John Ryle's account of the systematic persecution of the Dinka tribe in
Sudan is an authentic classic of today's brand of travel writing. In very
understated prose, yet with a faint but discernible undertone of anger,
Ryle documents the plight of the Dinka who peacefully herded their cattle
for centuries, but today live in the shanty towns of Khartoum as a result
of forces - governments, political interests, tribal rivalries and Libyan
arms and money - they do not even begin to understand.
Very different in tone and perhaps the most interesting pieces in the
issue, are the two accounts of the American Midwest. Bill Bryson's 'More
Fat G'irls in Des Moines' is a peppy account of his journey through Iowa,
Illinois and Missisippi - middle America at its most tasteless, barren and
bizarre. It's funny, irreverent and vivid, but this style has its own limits:
''It looked the sort of tidy, friendly, clean-thinking college that Clark Kent
would have attended", and many more such zippy one liners. Even so it's
a welcome relief from all the suffering humanity of the other pieces.
Amitav Ghosh (The Circle ofReason, The Shadow Lines) writes awry,
spare account of the 'Four Corners', the point where the states of
Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona meet, right in the middle of the
flattest, most uninteresting bit of countryside in America. Here two
notional lines intersect. This area was once the 'Glittering World' of the
Navajo tribe, where they lived for generations evolving a sophisticated
system of beliefs and behaviour but these couldn't withstand the guns of
the American Army. Today, Four Corners is a tourist pilgrimage where
Americans in Recreational Vehicles - a sort of state of the art trailer ­
draw up, strike interesting poses for their photo albums and buy Navajo
kitsch souvenirs. Ghosh's article is specially interesting because it's an
almost anthropological account of late twentieth century American
Midwestern social behaviour written without overt comment It is also
refreshing to have a third worlder writing about the poverty of advanced
societies.
Ranjana Sengupta in EXPRESS 9 July 1989
,,-.
-...-.'--l
!
Mt. Everest will have the highest price tag -- a little over $3,000
for a climb. This is a 20% increase over present rates. Mountains
between 7,500 and 8,000 metres high will cost just over $1 AOO '
. and peaks less than 7,500 metres can be booked for $1,000.
iNDIAN EXPRESS, 17 August 1989
3
Tourism And Nona-Governmental
Expeditions (NGEs)
The interest/incidence of both NGEs and tourist groups in the Antarctic is fast
increasing. NGEs see the Antarctic as the last great 3rena for wilderness
adventure, and commercial operators see a virtually untouched field of
opportunity,
This rapidly developing interest is potentially threatening to the protection
of the Antarctic as a wi Iderness. Several groups in Austral ia, for instance, have
indicated interest in the construction of a 747-capable runway and hotel complex
near Davis, a major Antarctic scientific 'oasis: The projects envisage a week­
long package for the well-heeled tourist. Avoiding the admittedly rough sea
passage through icebergs and sea ice, visitors would arrive without acclimat­
isation and an appreciation of the vulnerability of the region.
Because of the extremely small percentage of the continent which is ice-free,
any shore-based tourist development wi II be competing for space with other
Iife forms, and areas such as flora and fauna concentrations, which tourists wi II
want to see, will surely be threatened. Disruptions to scientific programmes
will also be likely as hotels will necessarily be sited near existing bases.
Controlled ship-borne tourism reJ-lresents one possible acceptable way to
convey people to this wonderful continent: the approach by sea enables one
to appreciate its isolation, and the beauty of icebergs and pack ice. Onshore
tourist impact can be minimised in this way; guided day trips to sites of interest,
especially to areas which have lost their pristine quality.
However, a precedent has been set for shore-based tourism. A40-bed hotel
has been constructed at Teniente Marsh, a Chilean base on King George Island.
In this case, the development appears to be part of a a 'colonisation' process,
to 'support' Chile's claim to Antarctic Territory.
Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalitioll, Australia
•• cfesired...no/fJtbefpf .ll,te...................
fn·(1t1 effotttoi::'
.. '
"'. .... g!vetheffl$tlnklingtd the visitorsofthe
ies.s.ofthe.kJcaI4uJhoriticS;{heentfl'e,rolJtelsdotted withheaps . ...
hugeboutders.There .' ..
,.are noexc;luslve transport sYfJtems{or the touristst who hal1e totrave/
'.::JlJcrowdedpublicbuses to reach the resort, 18 kmsaway;' .
," delivered to the beach byencroachers with the
.:iacqulescenceofa previous sfategrwernment {TDC hadacquiredalarge
stretr;hof the /)each when the hatel was started in Kavalam. Soon the
hotel was encroached upon by traders and
. ,'#ndesiralJ(es.:.!\fJOwnas beach, it has growninta a den ofall
·.·VicestlSsociati:d with international tourism including drug trafficking.
The state. gOvernment has done precious little ta rid the place of the
growingdrugttade. Nudity is common anda large number oftourists,
.foreign and domestic, dread the area.
THE WEEK. 26 May 1989
palni Hills Conservation Council
The Palni I-lills Conservation Council is a secular, voluntary, non-po!itical
organisation for public welfare and scientific research. The work of the PHCC
falls into three main categories:
* Publicity dnd awareness generation
* Environmental policy, research dnd implementation
* Development programmes.
Aprimary objective is to arouse interest and acceptance of the programme
of conservation, particularly in the Pal ni hi II villages, as also in the increasi ngly
important hill resort of Kodaikanal, South India,
Avideo fi Im on the sholas (tropical evergreen forests) has been made, Jnd
another on environmental degradation and drought in the plains and Palnis
is nearing completion. A number of pamphlets on their tree planting prog­
rammes and the necessity to safeguard water sources have also been prepared
for distribution.
The PHCC has given informed suggestions on the Tourism Master Plan for
Kodai, and has even filed cases against two luxury resorts Mis Sterling Resorts
Pvt. Ltd" and Mis Dalmia Group of Enterprises.
Sterling Resorts planned to construct a 146-apartment complex on the Kodai
lakeside, partly upon a perennial marshland which acts as a reservoir and filter
for the potable quality of water feeding into the lake, The petitioners had first
sought the intervention of both the Central and State governments, but as those
were not forthcoming, went to court. In an interim order of the Madras High
Court in April 1988, the company was allowed to proceed with the construction
but was restrai ned from letti ng in any sewage or other effl uents into the lake.
This order was later confirmed, and the company ordered to construct a sewage
treatment plant.
In the second case, Dalmia Enterprises proposed to demolish a traditional
building (in perfect condition) on the lakeside, which it had acquired as a
corporate guest house, Upon the site, they proposed to bui Id a 72-apartment
complex, to be let out on a time-sharing basis. The land was within the 200
meters ban limit, and although the Kodaikanal Township rejected
the company's proposal initially, they were later requested to revise their order.
The PHCC believes that the Resort 'blatantly violates zoning and other
municipal regulations; is ecologically hazardous, and aesthetically indefensible
on the hill landscape. The petition is still pending.
Disturbed Ladakh
The Buddhist dominated frontier region of Ladakh in Kashmir is now witnessing
a highly explosive situation. Buddhists, at leastthe more militant among them,
led by the Ladakh Buddhist Association are on the warpath.
The current disturbances have been attributed to the increasing discontent­
ment among the Ladakhis over two issues - the alleged neglect of their land
by the authorities and their "meagre" in state services. ThE'
agitators are demanding separation from Kashmir, and Union Territory status
for the frontier region. They have started a campaign seeking the ouster of all
Kashmiris from Leh, thp capital of Ladakh, on grounds that the latter have not
only usurped Government jobs but also monopolised trade and commerce,
particularly the tourist trade. Leh is annually by an estimated 15,000
foreigners, who bri ng in around Rs. 10 crores.
There have been incidents of arson, assault on Kashmiri traders and others
from outside, and damage to public property. Tourist le,lYing Lch have come
under heavy stoning, and some of them have been set on fire. Injured drivers
and tourists alleged that the police had refused to help. Trawl agents, hOlN'
boat owners and others connected with tourism haY(' decided not to carry ,m)'
tourists, in protest against the State Administration's failure to provide protection
to property and lives of Kashmiris. Local authorities, have meanwhile, advised
in Sri nagar not to proceed to Leh, or only at their own risk.
DECCAN HERALD, 13 1989
Hope for Pattaya
by Paul Gonsalves
the recent (July 1989) Asian Ecumenical Conference on Tourism at Sri
Racha, Thailand, a small group of participants underwent an exposure
as Thailand's [premier beach resort;
is internationally notorious as a centre for sex tourism.
Barely a decade ago, Pattaya was a quiet fishi ng village, quite indistinct from
the many that dot the eastern coast of Thailand. During the Vietnam war,
servicemen from the nearby American of Sattahip began frequenting the
few bars that existed at that time. The soldiers often entered into liaisons with
local women, many resulting in illegitimate children.
The war ended, and lett a vacuum for the numerous bars, hotels and people
who worked in the village. In the mid-1970s, public and private sector investors
fTkbsive amounts of money in an effort to attract tourists.
is crawling with tourists of all nationalities, predominantly white and
male, and an estimated 50,000 women work in the 4,000 bars and go-go clubs
packed in the narrow strip at South Pattaya.
Observing the night-time scene, our small group was concerned about the
apparent lack of support for the many women and children who jive on the
fringe of the tourism industry. They have no legal status, and are harassed by
establishment-owners, tourists and the Crime rates are high. and
unwanted pregnancies, VO and AIDS reportedly
non-existence of counselling or crisis centres left us ctppctlleu.
During the vvorkshop that followed, one par1icipant stood out not in the high­
profile visible sense that most active meeting-goers do, but by her quiet, gentle,
interactions. Sr. Michelle Lopez, a Good Shepherd nun, works with women
in Pattaya, aiming to get them out of the prostitution trade and rehahilitated
in mainstream society. After much persuasion, Michelle agreed to speak to the
nClrtirinClntc about her pvnpr;pnrpc
which is
males, the
disharmony is evident when you see the houses where these women
live: totally at odds with the glamorous sleaze of their work
'I am challenged in my faith by the use of contraceptives, by the numerous
abortions which I know of, by the existence of minor wives. Should I restrict
my involvement because of these? How can I justify withdrawing, knowing the
need is so great?'
Michelle is strengthened spiritually by the words of the Buddha, who exhorts
us to 'awaken the person, and the awakened one will see'. She feels that the
theolc,glcal documents we produce at conferences such as the present one
sound 'but what happens to the langl'age of the victims?'
cope with the disharmony because I believe in my work. It iorced me to
rethink and relocate the values and beliefs which I had grown up with all my
life. I am still looking for an answer:
The presence of spirit-houses and religious artefacts inside the bars and
brothels confused many. Where do they fit in?
'The women are uncomfortable, ashamed, at a very
know it is not in accordance with Buddhist teneb.
merit as a
Buddhist lent to mdke merit at thei r vi I age.
they hdv(' done so, purified in some way. It
III Bangkok, the Good Shepherd sisters rlln a small vocational centre,
providing useful skills to young women, including Sri Lankan refugees. A day
care centre for young children of the neighbourhood is pal1 oftheir work. Most
leadership development programme "kills and motivation
to go back and work as village development workers, in some
medsure an dlternative to in the cities. Buddhist philosophY and
it'> exoression are central to Christian
Michfllr i<; a part.
Contact: Sr. Michelle Lopez, Good Shepht'rd Sister'), 18/65 Di n Daeng
ROdlt G'Hlgkuk, 10400, Tiklilc\i1d. ['!June, (02) 24'1.
4
Fighting Mail Order Marriages
can be bought like any product from a an exchange in case
dissatisfaction can be arranged, and instalment payments are common.
number of marriage seIVices in "Vest Germany "specialise" in Asian
obedient Asian wife and
There is an enormous demand for Asian brides, especially for women from
Thailand and the Philippines, according to Tippawan Duscha of the hankfurt­
based working group against international sexual and racist exploitation, or
AGISRA by its German initials.
_ . AGISRA
estimates. Pure profit for each bought bride is between $ 1,100 and $2,200.
There arc no reliable estimates of the number of women recruited in their
horne countries by agents of the marriage seIVices or newspaper advertisements.
But indication" are that the number is increasing, says
The Thai and Filipino women are often kept isolated from the world by their
German husbands and treated "like slaves" says Duscha. Many of these brides
learn little German and are often at the mercy of violent partners.
In a worse situation are the Asians who wind up in brothels and bars, or who
are illegally hired to work as housemaids.
AGISRA, as one of the few West German groups concerned with the
of sex tourism and trade in women, tries to offer helD to Asian women
The aid comes from ,vomen volunteer'S at
West Berlin, Cologne and Munich.
The group's comprehensive archive at the Frankfurt headquarters includes
stacks of catalogues from marriage services and newspaper advertisements.
Frequent information campaigns for public, and counselling and German
language courses for these women are also offered by the group, founded in
198.1
TIMES OF INDIA, 17 August 1989
Tourists attacked in Kenya
For the fifth time in 11 months, tourist.s watching African wildlife
in a Kenyan game park have been ambushed.
An American woman was shot dead and an American man was
wounded in the latest which happened at
27th. They were shot and 17 of t.heir companions
t.wo men when they were held up while
rU,l1UIJ;:>C;U and Tsavo national parks.
The two men, armed with AK-47 assault rifles, attacked the
tour group on the 60-kilometre stretch of road between the parks.
It was the latest in a series of assaults on foreign tourists.
The dead woman, identified as Marie Est.her Ferraro, was shot
through t.he head, said Frances Jones, a US State Depart.ment
The wounded man, Allen E. Sullivan, 66, said from Nairobi in
a telephone Interview wlLh a US newspaper, The Hartford
Courant in Connecticut,that he was not badly hurt.
Sullivan said two men, one dressed in camouflage-style
clothing, jumped out of the hush about. midday and began firing
at the tour group. The gunmen robbed the gr011p memhers of
their money and jewelery.
out. in the road and fired said Sullivan,
a retIre a hlgn scnool teacher from Trumbull, Connecticut.
Sullivan said one bullet grazed his face and then hit Ferraro on
the left side of her head.
BANGKOK POST, 30 )u!y1989
Tourism in the Philippines
(This is.l SUm[{)drv ahout tourism under A1arcm which appearooin a Philippine journal,
'Cordillera Currt'n6; pub/is/wei by the Cordillera Resource C:entre).
Under the rule of Marcos there was a massive increase in the promotion of
tourism. This was idrgely poiitical strategy to promote the Philippinp<
stable country and to guarantee
continued inflow of foreign aid and investment. The Ministry of Tourism, set
up in 1973, became one of the most powerful and autonomous arms of
government. Seeki ng to raise the profile of the Philippines events such as the
Miss Universe contest and the IMF-WB conference were hosted, though this
meant considerable investment in infrastructure to support these events with
little or no benefits to the development of the Philippines. More and more
funds were diverted into tourism, with the building of numerous
and supporting structures. With the growing evidence of
instability in the Marcos the illusion of the Philippines as a major tourist
destination crumbled, the government had the cost of its over-ambitious
tourist programme to add to its mounting $26 billion debt. So much for the
centre; it was in the regions that much of the real damage was done.
The northern provinces were particularly badly hit, perhaps in part because
they were the home provinces of Marcos and the tourism minister jose Aspi ras.
Iloicos I\orte for exarnple emerged with one of the best-paved road systems
in the country. Golf coursE'S were raised from land previously designated to
the Bureau of Fisheries, sleepy coastal towns
resorts. Typical of the ill-thought out tourist
the Marcos High-way and the Marcos Park where the benefits seem to be almost
exclusively for the benefit of the contractors. Both of these projects meant the
displacement of the Ibaloy people, and destruction of the land they had tilled
and lived off for centuries. The 49-kilometer Marcos Highway was intended
to improve access to the beaches of Agoo and other so-called tourist attractions.
But in construction costs alone the government spent over P129M, while the
Park consumed another P99.6M. The motorwav is nc
since travellers prefer the old road, and the Park drew
the economic cosrs are small when set next to the social costs
people of the area. The construdion of the
ricefields, fruit trees and water sources. The park displaced 81
and provided meagre compensation. The Min istry of Tourism offered some of
them the opportunity of living in a showcase vi Ilage for the tourists. All of them
refused. Now most of the park area has been returned to its origi nal inhabitants,
though during the fall of Marcos the Ibaloy families had already begun to reclaim
the land, planting banana trees on the golf course. The remaining infrastructure
of the Park will probably be turned over to the Bureau of Forestry and other
government agencies.
The commercialisation of indigenous culture continued in the towns. Baguio
City, Cordillera'S suburban centre was subjected to schemes to turn it, and the
Igorot culture, into a tourist attraction. Artifacts and items of Igorot material
culture traditional Iy seIVing economic and religious functions have been mass
produced and devalued. The Ministry of Tourism launched a Grand Canao,
at the first one of which Mrs. Marcos herself was present. Native priests were
invited to make offerings, animals were butchered and most of Cordillera's major
were invited to sing and dance. After 3 years the Grand Canao
wa!, mopped; protests from students and other groups showed the event up
for the sorry caricature that it was, The cynical exploitation of the Igorot culture
for tourism's sake has led to the denial of basic seIVices such as electricity to
the city's tribal people on the grounds that it would lessen the area's ethnic
appeal. In other,areas of the Cordillera region, such as Banaue, one can find
a 5 star tourist hotel where water is piped from asource 6 miles away. The houses
in the village 100 metres away have no water or sanitation. The hotel stockpiles
firewood for its fireplaces, but the people face a han on tree cutting.
While building up infrastructure, the Ministry of Tourism has ('I\",;donlh,
and failed to protect the natural tourist attractions
have been pilfered and 50ld including an
slipped out of the country and subsequently offered
museum.
9
Under Mrs. Aquino's government the of the country's tourist
departments has been reorgdnised. Despite this the governments five year
tourism programme holds little for the Cordillera, except for itscapital, Baguio.
The Afluino regime also seems to be
to generate hadly needed exchange .
economy. But there is no strong evidence that encouraging tourism does
tourists who come to Baguio for example, are serviced by travel­
dgents with japanese ti(.'-ups. They fly on Japanese Airlines, they stay in japanese­
owned hotels and very little oi their money really trickles into the local
Philippine economy. As a counter-step to the way in which tourism seems to
be developi ng, aTask Force on Tau rism has been set up, which has developed
a long-term National Tourism Plan under the Department of Tourism. Among
its aims it seeks to encourage 'active community involvement in all stages of
promote a climate for cross-cu!tural exchange, strengthen the
prCNiding activities tor foreign and domestic tourists,
n and preservation of local culture: But there is no
these goals, and the Neltional Tourism plan still puts
economic gOdls prior to socia-cultural goals, Those trying to protect the socio­
cultural heritage of the Philippines wait to see how effective such reforms can be.
- Julia Mosse
Goa to Peter Saldana, a
Saldlh!?jore;gtzerto Peter Saldana
'I reltskGoariJackand banana
4n,tJthe sorpotel dish,
:4.1ld:feni antifish,
4nd1o?E at myOWn
'Fi?imyloikfor Goat.$
Provence.
':rf;.eresjJlentyo.{s(;ope
For drag rind dope,
Andj'or.:qrztraband the.field is immense..'
'I'vettavetled, indeed very vastly.
I..ittmeassztreyou tit(? Medt'termnean is ghastly,
. You pay a whopping price .
Fo'r Carlo tmdNice,
But Goa.z'j· not at all i:V.5l/y: '
(i havenfor holz'day and rest,
And Goanfol:ks do look a guest.
fbuare,atl very kind.
A1idY0'iJ,r cops don l mind
Sleazy crookS like us./rom the West.'
My landlady £s Mrs. Joyce Fernandes.
I tell her how wonderful I,er land is,
So picturesque, so cute
Are Anjuna,CalanKute,
And how silvery at CO/r1fZ the sand is.)
'Since none C!/ our g'irls is a prude
Those are.fi'ne spots, indeed. to be wooed.
As you know, cloth
Is eaten by motlt.
iFe prefer making love /J'l tIle nude:
'But summer here
VOl;fa
l
I must catell
Stacked with a haul
q/hash/or Nepal.
Shall be back in Goa the rain.'
8
Apostcard Cremation
By Shobha De
It was obviously just another "made for tourists" cremation. The usual stuff.
A scruffy little Nepali boy tugged at my dupatta and urged me to climb to a
vantage point for a "better view". This Wd" at the peak of the summer
season in Kathmandu.
The
wa')the
was the Ilnal tOllch"
A morbid macabre monwill v.ould capture
mntor-drrven Nikons and sophisticated video cameras, to show off
to friends on their return home.
The setting was equally photo-worthy. And old, attractively ruined stone
krnplv along the banks of the Nepali Ganga. An ancient cremation ghat near
the rock\ and the spectacular Himalayas in the background. Overlooking this
location, was a small bridge across the river (reduced to a trickle during
Tourist buses could be parked a short cJistance away.
The momf'nt a bus rolled up, it was surrounded by groups of screaming
children, dressed in rags. In a high-pitched chorus they'd begin chanting "Dead
dead and stretch their grubby palms out. Soon, older
Taiwanese jeans and denim bomber jackets would appear f:'Om nearby souvenir
(huts, and take over the "Ten rupees for
for videos and movies:' Brisk negotiations with the
ensure, before leading the tourists
went along too, curious and fascinated. Since I didn't have a camera, I was
allowed to proceed gratis. From the narrow (where there was a great
deal of roughing up and jostling going on for the possible angle), I looked
down at the ghat where an old man's body was laid out over the usual makeshift
bamboo and straw stretcher. Obviously, he camp from a not-too-affluent
background, judging from the threadbare wh ite sheet that barely covered him,
and the few wilted garlands that were indifferently thrown across his emaciated
frame. Close by a couple of bored mourners waited patiently, cynically. I
wondered what or whom they were waiting for. A priest... or a larger crowd?
After about 10 minutes, a few more people shuffled in - the orofessionals. The
and started babbling
The keener shutterbugs
I'm not sure what the delay was about
insufferable heat) was beginning to get E
A few minutes later, a dhoti-clad relative came
overflowing with cremation trimmings. A tin of ghee was opened with
a sharp edged stone. A bundle of wood was untied and laid on the platform.
The audience jerked up- at last they were going to see some action. Almost
carelessly the mourners picked up the corpse and dumped it on the bed of
wood and straw. Ghee was carefully poured all over the wood. Suddenly it was
discovered that there were no
A couple of obliging urchins scampered down and gave them a I he
pyre was finally lit. rhis was my first cremation. I couldn't move away or avert
my eyes. I star'ed with horrified fascination as the flames up and the
crackle of the straw broke the eerie silence. There were no tears and no wails
- just the sound of the fire, the gentle bubbling of the nearbv rivulet and the
click-cl ick of the high-speed shutters.
local girl played unconcernedly with her baby brother.
the show to end so that they could pester the departi ng
get a buck or two. The early evening light was divine­
interesting shadows across the hridge. Looking at
the tourists and overhearing the guide's comments
l
it was easy to
discern the reactions. Death does have a ;nesmeric influence on even the most
hard-boiled
The were
rituals and beliefs. Most
whole thing was reduced to
atma. I heard one of them talking about how bodies on a burning pyre often
with a ierk because "the person doesn't want to leave the earth .. he or
earthly desires:' The soul hovers around and becomes a
Hindus call it bhoot. "Aw gee? That's kinda neat;' was one bermuda­
American tourist\ predictable rfaction.
great guns by now. Suddenly! one f'maciaterlleg emerged
on top of the corpse. Without a warning, the entire foot
swung around at the ankle. An audible, collective gasp echoed along the bridge.
It was absolutely bizarre. "Now you will get the smell of burning flesh;' the
announced with devilish glee and sure a sharp stench
accompanied by the crackling sound of fried skin (sounds awful, but
I canit think of a more apt term) floated up to where we stood, staring with
revulsion as the leg dangled and danced, before being poked back into
by an observant relative.
Soon it was khel khatam time. "This is all. It is finished now. You will not
be able to see anything more. The body will burn for two hours. Then the
relativp5 will collect the ashes and throw them into the sacred river. On the
13th daYI prayers will be held and brahmins will feast. Now, we will get back
into the bus and go to the next halt on the trip. You may give your
donation ... dollars allowed .. :'
The urchins jumped up from their various and clustered around with
their stickv hands and running noses. Cameras got replaced in their
cases. The corpse continued to burn quietly. Everybody had got
their money's worth ... except the one person who had held centre-stage at this
tamasha ... the "hero" of the day... who was steadily being reduced to an um­
fuli of still-warm ashes. The river was waiting...
TIMES or INDIA. n September 1987


to
WoylA···
The. »ta.pS e. II '.
II· Wttil ..
h,jrYL well···
'YOU MAY
YOJ
r \jJ( ARE M'lT
t\E.RE-
WIltRE ...\
(1 yO) ARE ARE
11M
if

Af__I!£
J,.J-',\
YoU (
V
./'-..5
DengOfVice
revenue, is indulging in some revisionism,
in forbidden cities. Or, as an official recently informed a
group of visiting Indian journalists, "We want to make night life in China more
vivid." One might wonder at the foolhardiness of the Chinese leadership in
encouraging this decadence when it has problems enough with democracy.
However, it has been clarified that the local population, for its own moral
salvation, will not be allowed into any of the proposed pleasure domes. Besides,
as an official confided, lithe Chinese may get drunk and make a nuisance of
themselves:' Thus one can see that Mr. Deng Xiaping's old "anti-corrosion
education" still holds and there is no deviation from the earlier policy of
modernisations with the five nds, \Alhirh fmh:lrJp :In\! rhinr>cp
came into contact with a
favOL;rs and "unhealthy books or containing
Ever since Paris went on a tOLlr of Helen by
has always demanded something more relaxing after they have trudged
through monuments all day, massage parlours adding just the right touch.
However, China is not going to be Shanghaied into becoming another flesh­
pot of the orient while ball-room dancing and billiards will be on the party­
approved list of Offici dis are being a bit of a tease on whether cabaret
will be permitted. But gambling is completely out, and the Red Army will not
tolerate red-light districts. A foreign tourist who imagines that Suzies will
he readi Iy avai lable would he quite wrong and held find himself in the soup
if he harboured such won-ton
Editorial in the TIMES OF INDIA, 12 August 1989
Tourism Crashes as Trade Stops
The mighty Nepal Himalayas have beckoned mountain climbers, trekkers, and
nature lovers from allover the world. While this has come as ablessing to Nepal,
which is poor in resources, it has also started a trend that could well lead to
ecological disaster.
Thousands of western tourists go to exotic spots like the Annapurna and
)haulagiri areas in mid-western Nepal and the Everest area in central
The extent of organised trekking in these saturated areas is n<:>'Jiro,hl"
to individual trekkers who go there, the latter posing a threat to 'the
environment. In the Annapurna and Everest areas, there is the added burden
of mountain climbers who take with them thousands of porters to
carry their mountaineering gear, food and other necessary equipment. These
Nepalese porters are forced to cut down trees to use them as fuel for cooking
and heating. The fragility of the Himalayan environment forbids this, as the
trees take a long time to grow in the rarefied atmosphere.
While tourism on one hand has contributed considerably to the deterioration
of the environment in Nepal, the present no-treaty situation with India has
adversely affected its tourist trade. In March 1978, Nepal and India for the first
time two separate treaties, the trade treaty for 5years and that of transit
for 7years. The trade treaty was renewed for 5 years till March 1988 while the
transit one was extended by a year on an adhoc basis until it expired on March
23rd
It is obvious that the present situation has brought real hardships to the
of Nepal. Amongother problems, the entire tourist trade had been paralyzed.
Hotels which are normally packed between April and August are empty. The
familiar sight of tourist buses moving lethargically towards the open Nepal
border, is no more to be seen. Officials of the tourism department admit that
tourist inflow has been drastically reduced by at least 80 percent.
The economic crunch has led to a growing frustration. Prices of essential
commodities have sky rocketed. The repercussions of this have seriously affected
the fortunes of tour operators. 'We do not know how we can offer a price which
the tourist can pay:1 wonders one tour operator. He points out that the prices
of and oetrol are so high that travel has become prohibitively expensive.
5
The Spoils of Nature
The flood of tourists to Kodaikanal
controllable. Hordes of so called educated people tumble out of buses, make
for the lake, unload their packages
in the water. Transistors blare
l
and air horns raise the noise
. proportions. Religious as well as commercial get-togethers make use of coile
type loud speakers (prohibited by lawl to spread their message. The mo,,[
objectionable result of this un-checked tourist influx is that the sewage
is simply unable to cope with the effluent discharged, and untreated effluent
from the toilets of hotels flow across the busiest section of the road leading
to the bazar. There have been several complaints to the hotel managers, the
police, and the township authorities. But no one is able to take appropriate
action and the grave health hazard continues. Then, some of the tourist buses
are so large that they cause traffic blocks whenever they arrive. Is it not
to restrictthe size of buses coming to Kodaikanal taking into accountthe narrow
width of the roads designed originally for humans and
The most disturbing situation of Kodaikanal is the pollution of the lake which
apart from being the main water source of the town,
water for both washing and drinking purposes to the city population. In an Open
Meeting organised by the PHCC on May 20, the figures of coliforrn,
and nitrate levels in the lake presented by Gerald Coleman of the Kodaikanal
International School made the audience sit up. Dr. B. B. Sundaresan, the former
Head of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute was forced
to remark that the situation should be checked before it got out of hand.
Obviouslv the sewage from domestic and commprcial establishments
has got to be arrested. And in any case until this is done, and a
of the water quality of the lake established,
further construction in the immediate watershed of the lake should be permitt
The Revenue Divisional Officer indicated at the meeting that as per the
directions of the Centre, no further construction will be permitted within a radius
of 500 metres of the lake. One can only hope that this intention will not be
allowed to be waylaid by unscrupulous commercial promoters.
by Zafar Futehally In INDIAN EXPRESS, 9 July 1989
ITDC: 'dismal show'
The Committee of Public Undertakings (COPU) has passed severe strictures
the Indian Tourism Development Corporation Ltd (lTDC), that
'u\rnothinn is
the working of ITD(, which for
corporation's hotels on par with the
In its 61st report on ITDC, the COPU said earnest efforts were
down the losses of these hotels by devising suitable methods of checks
and controls. It suggested a periodic review of the corooration's financial
performance at the ministerial level.
Taking a broader view of tourism industry, COPU said that there is an urgent
need to evolve an integrated approach towards rlevelopment dnd promotion
of tourism in the country.
that the average room occupancy of ITDC hotels was lower them that
of private sector hotels in all categories, the COPU said that while the average
occupancy of 3-star, 2-star and l-star hotels in the private sector was 74.2 per
cent, 66.7 per cent and 68.7 per cent respectivpl v
for ITDC hotels were 60 per cent, 41 per cent
said that eight of the ITDC hotels incurred mm ;,t.mth.
years.
Deprecating thp use of hotel for residential purposes by
managers, the committl'e said that the feasibility of constructing flats on the
land available within the hotel premises should be examined.
It also found that the outstandi ngs due to the corporation have beell
increasing, the amount at the end of 1987-88 being Rs. 1642.98 lakhs. It said
the corporation is losing heavy amounts by way of interest on the unrecovered
money. Government departments account for 55 per cent of the total amount
due to ITDe.
TIMES OF INDIA, 27 July 1989
6 7
What price tourism?
The one great attraction, in our district, for what goes by the name of "tourism;'
is of COL1rse, Jaiselmer. Even up till the late 70s we were largely innocent of the perils
of permitting such an invasion; now we are the victims. Travellers we have always
welcomed, and pilgrims; thousands of them flock annually to the great fair of
'Ramsa Peer' at Ram Deora near Pokhran.
Almost at the other end of the district, thousands yet congregate annually
for the great animal fair of Mallinathji at Tilwara, and that too only enriches ..us.
"But this new variety, this onslaught of tourists, while giving us more money, also
pauperises us culturally". When I shared my concern in these words with a friend
in Jodhpur, he disagreed wit h me, remarking that I was "hoping to preserve that
which, in any case, would get lost". So why not, therefore, channelise it and guide
it'.' "Because the concept is absent", I reasoned with him. And as an illustration
of what I was saying, I gave him the example of Tane Singh.
When foreign tourists to Jaiselmer began to weary of the architectural wonders
of this great city in our district, they started looking for other places, authentic
and quaint. Khuri, a village on the border, became a target. It is so quintessentially
a desert village, and so easy of access, that its invasion was almost inevitable. Tane
Singh, a young man, early saw the opportunity and started providing 'sand-dune
experience' to visiting foreigners.
When once I remonstrated with him and suggested that he ought not to encourage
such an invasion, he asked me simply: "But why do you object to my making money?
All that I have to do is to put these foolish people anyhow on my camels and ride
them twenty minutes out of the village into the dune, where we then spend the night.
The next morning I ride back. And for doing just this I make so much money. What
harm do you see in it?"
When I tried to reason with him that this would, over time, destroy our 'culture',
he asked me in turn a question to which I could not find an answer: "What is this
culture? Is it our religion, or language, or dress or what - and will it survive only
if I do not have money?" Somewhat feebly I had then responded: "Culture IS also
character and perhaps we will lose our character - that character of the desert
people".
Tane Singh's business flourished. Groups especially began to ask for wanting
to visit Khuri. The name of this ancient village, nestled on the edge of our National
Desert Park, began to feature in glossy magazines and travel guide books. Tane
Singh took to sending me cuttings of his photographs and letters that he was being
flooded with.
Then, last year, suddenly his bubble burst. I was sitting with BaJji, in his old haveli
in Jaiselmer, when 1lme Singh came rushing to say ''All these hotel touts are behaving
like animals. They are belabouring all those foreigners, pulling them this way and
that, by their hands even by their clothing - come to this hotel; no, no, that hotel
- disgusting!" he exclaimed in finality.
There was a pause until Balji said: "Imagine the shame of it. How low can we
get and what a black day this is for our ancient township". Tane Singh, in a more
restrained manner informed me, "Do you know that in this rural town of ours, with
a population which has only just crossed 20,000, around 15,000 tourists visit
annually. We now have 44 hovels calling themselves hotels. What else do you then
expect but this undignified scramble, this pulling and pushing, including that of
women?"
"Tane Singh;' I wondered aloud, "What has happened to you'! What about your
advocacy of tourism'?" "You were right;' he conceded, "when you had warned us
earlier. How we have degraded ourselves. Look, what a joke this desert festival at
Sam is. Of course, our musicians get some money, and some patronage also, but
1he ,heer indignity of it all, having things like t urban tying competition, so alien
10 our thought. Our turbans are not just our distinctive marks, they are our pride.
How can you compete commercially in pride?"
"It is because some unthinking babu somewhere, as foreign to our district as
art the foreigners, thinks that tourism will be promoted by such exploitation'?"
remarked Balji and with more vehemence. "Don't you remember the indignity that
the\' inflicted on our Bheel and Girasia women at Abuji by arranging that insulting
'be;utv contest' for them and that too in the town? From where do such ideas about
come? Let travellers come, if they want to, for they share wil h ll'
But let these half clad tourists go - they only take away".
Singh in INOIAN EXPRESS 26 11IIvl9R9

Saving tradition from tourism
by Gaj Singh
Apropos of Jaswant Singh's'article, "What price tourism?'; the question surely
is who determines the price? Tourism is a "world phenomenon'; to borrow a
phrase frequently used by late Mrs. Indira Gandhi to brush aside debates on
the issue of corruption. No matter how distasteful we may find the degrading
effects of both these phenomena we cannot just will them away. It is only the
collective wi!l, or strength of a society, and one's faith in it that ultimately
triumphs or succumbs. That is the reality. Those of us who belong to the so­
called 'enlightened mainstream; quite understandably lament the corruption
of the character of simple yet proud and self-respecting communities, be they
in Jaisalmer, Kovalam, Ladakh orthe Andamun islands. We do so knowing that
we have ourselves long ago sJcrificed the native elements of our "national"
character (if indeed such an aggregate can be claimed). The last, vestiges of
swh character are still alive! but only in the extremities and remote parts of
our multifaceted land where the debilitating influence of "modern civilization"
are least felt, where people have retained a more direct correlation with nature's
beauties and hardships and where they are still rooted to a traditional way of life.
Can we really afford to ban tourism in such places? If so, do we have the
political system or will tor it? The answer surely is No. We do not even begin
to regulate the Inflow of tourists to sensitive areas, something that Bhutan has
done very successfully. But then Bhutan is a monarchy. In Jaisalmer, when it
was a kingdom they spurned all offers from the neighbouring State of Jodhpur
to extend the railway service to their city forfear of unsettling, outside influence.
In our kind of deficient and indisciplined democracy, it is still preferable that
the Jaisalmeri himself decides what is good for him rather than be dictated to
by an unimaginative Babu in Jaipur, or a romantic intellectual in Delhi. The
enlightened, collective approach should be to strive for greater freedom of
choice and to help these fringe communities to exercise that choice by
attempting to restore their self-confidence, to help them regain their pride by
recogn isi ng the merits of thei r traditional val ues and preservi ng the conditions
that sustain them.
An interesting study on the social and economic impact of tourism in Ladakh,
has been carried out by INTACH. It has revealed some startling facts. They show
that the Ladakhi is the least benefitted by the orchestrated boom in tourism
over the past few years. Obviously, there is much that is lacking in our official
zeal to launch tourism at any cost.
A striking example of this philistine approach was well illustrated by Chhaya
Mitra in your letters' column on July 27. It referred to the UP Government's
plans to develop "Gangotri into a tourist resort". This is clearly symptomatic
of our current national disharmony with local ethos, and disregard of the
sentiments of the different peoples of our land. Why places that for centuries
have been the centres of pilgrimage should be converted into "tourists SpO.ts"
is beyond comprehension. f)oes this not stem from some distorted interpretation
of secularism? No one doubts that facilities for Yatries need improvement, and
no one wishes to deny an oppo,tunity to other curious travellers from visiting
these hallowed places but to completely lose sight of their sanctity is an insult
to millions of pilgrim5 and to our ancient civilization.
Unless and until the people themselves (and by people I do not mean only
their elected representatives) have a greater say in determining and shaping
programmes designed ostensibly to benefit them, all that passes for development
to have any relevance. In tact it goes counter to national interest as has
been time ,md again. To derive the maximum benetit from tourism
not only must the locdl populdtiorl he tdkerl lully into confidence but also cl
thorough study involving sociologist" and
('conomis!) worKirlg closeiy with non-oifici,lI bodies, represerlting local interests,
..,llfJuld i)(' urlClertdKe!: hefore further ambitious (lild costly plalls are drawn up
lor the prOrllotl()ll 01 tourism
INDIAN EXPRESS. 9 )\lIglist 19B9
News & Views
Visit India Year
More than 2 million foreign tourists will be wooed to visit the country
during 1991, which has been designated "Visit India" year. Elaborate
plans have been drawn up by the government for attracting tourists to
nE:t an additional foreign exchange of Rs. 160 crores.
The main objectives of the "Visit India" year would be to promote India
as a destination for international tourism with a message to promote
universal brotherhood and international understanding; to project the
culture and handicrafts of India; to project greater awareness of the joys
of domestic travel; to promote within India an awareness of the need
to preserve the country's naturaL cultural and historical heritage; to
utilise the period as a "peg" for key touristic activities; and to instill a
renewed sense of purpose in all segments of government and industry.
Adventure sports such as trekking, car rallies, boat races, river
expeditions and wildlife will fonn the star attractions of the plans drawn
up by the Environment and Forest Ministry. The action plan prepared
at the behest of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, includes
augmentation of air travel facilities, hotel accommodations and
improved means of surface transport besides availability of skilled
tourism managers.
Officials say with the formation of the Tourism Finance Corporation
of India, tourism related activity cannot complain of paucity of funds
for developing infrastructure. "India Convention Promotion Bureau" set
up by the Tourism Ministry and Indian travel industry, is being geared
to take up the many-faceted challenges in promoting India as a
destination for conferences and international conventions.
Panna National Park
The tourism department of the Union Government has approved a
proposal from the Madhya Pradesh Government to develop Panna
National Park into a major wildlife tourist centre. The Centra! Govern­
ment is likely to grant Rs. 54 lakhs for the project.
Though the Panna National Park contains a large variety of wildlife
species, tourists are likely to feel discouraged due to the lack of proper
facilities. The Kanha and Bandavgarh National Park in the state have
been over-exposed to tourists who in some cases scared away wildlife
by moving in large groups,
TIMES OF INDIA, 23 June 1989
Inland waterways Project
The long serpentine stretches of Kerala's backwaters, a natural gift to
the palm-fringed state, are all set to get a face-lift thanks to the ambi­
tious inland waterways project being taken up by the Inland Waterways
Authority of Inqia (lWAI).
The IWAI has already commenced work on the 23 km Udyogamand­
alam canal, which is expected to increase tourist turn-out provided high
priority is given to the developmcnt of tourist infrastructure along thc
route.
Reactivation of water transport along this inland water mute, rich with
scenic beauty and exotic tourist locations like the Bolgatty Palace and
the Chinese fishing nets in Cochin, is expected to boost the state's
tourism in a big way.
TIMES OF INDIA. 19 JlInel9B9
Holy Men On Warpath
Holymen who seek nirvana in caves that abound on the snowswept slopes of
Mount Sudarshan which towers over Gangotri are on the warpath. They are
strongly opposed to the State Government's face-lifting plans for this sacred
Himalayan town, which is to be converted into a tourist resort.
Pilgrims from ail over the country trek to Gangotri each year, to the source
of the holy Ganges, considered to be the abode of Raja Bhagi rath who hrought
the Ganges down to earth. Swami Premanand, a sadhu, says "we won't permit
places of penance to be turned into honeymoon huts".
TIMES OF INDIA, 21 May 19B9
Tourist Resort Stalled
About a hundred villagers around Panshet Dam in the Sahyadri ranges forced
Maharashtra Minister of State for Sports, Mr. Sham Ashtekar, to abandon the
inauguration of a tourist resort and water sports centre.
The villagers led by Congress-I leader, Laxman Pasalkar, prevailed upon
Ashtekar and Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC)
Chairman Suresh Kalmadi, to announce that the resort and state's first aqua­
sports centre would be opened only after the grievances of the residents were
sorted out.
The villagers complained that the plans came up all of a sudden without
taking them into confidence. Their demands for rehabilitation of the Panshet
Dam-affected people, construction of approach roads in the hilly area and
provision of amenities like health services were not undertaken all these years.
Instead "Iakhs of rupees" were being spent for the entertainment of urban rich.
They maintained that opening of such a centre would lead to an onslaught
on the local culture. Already, holiday-makers from the cities were making merry
in the vicinity of the Panshet and the nearby Varasgaon Dam. They feared that
the flow of tourists would threaten security of the two dams which supplied
drinking water to Pune city and irrigation to farms downstream.
This is the first time that the MTDC's ambitious programme has been
challenged by the local people.
THE INDIAN POST, 8 August 1989
6 7
What price tourism?
The one great attraction, in our district, for what goes by the name of "tourism;'
is of COL1rse, Jaiselmer. Even up till the late 70s we were largely innocent of the perils
of permitting such an invasion; now we are the victims. Travellers we have always
welcomed, and pilgrims; thousands of them flock annually to the great fair of
'Ramsa Peer' at Ram Deora near Pokhran.
Almost at the other end of the district, thousands yet congregate annually
for the great animal fair of Mallinathji at Tilwara, and that too only enriches ..us.
"But this new variety, this onslaught of tourists, while giving us more money, also
pauperises us culturally". When I shared my concern in these words with a friend
in Jodhpur, he disagreed wit h me, remarking that I was "hoping to preserve that
which, in any case, would get lost". So why not, therefore, channelise it and guide
it'.' "Because the concept is absent", I reasoned with him. And as an illustration
of what I was saying, I gave him the example of Tane Singh.
When foreign tourists to Jaiselmer began to weary of the architectural wonders
of this great city in our district, they started looking for other places, authentic
and quaint. Khuri, a village on the border, became a target. It is so quintessentially
a desert village, and so easy of access, that its invasion was almost inevitable. Tane
Singh, a young man, early saw the opportunity and started providing 'sand-dune
experience' to visiting foreigners.
When once I remonstrated with him and suggested that he ought not to encourage
such an invasion, he asked me simply: "But why do you object to my making money?
All that I have to do is to put these foolish people anyhow on my camels and ride
them twenty minutes out of the village into the dune, where we then spend the night.
The next morning I ride back. And for doing just this I make so much money. What
harm do you see in it?"
When I tried to reason with him that this would, over time, destroy our 'culture',
he asked me in turn a question to which I could not find an answer: "What is this
culture? Is it our religion, or language, or dress or what - and will it survive only
if I do not have money?" Somewhat feebly I had then responded: "Culture IS also
character and perhaps we will lose our character - that character of the desert
people".
Tane Singh's business flourished. Groups especially began to ask for wanting
to visit Khuri. The name of this ancient village, nestled on the edge of our National
Desert Park, began to feature in glossy magazines and travel guide books. Tane
Singh took to sending me cuttings of his photographs and letters that he was being
flooded with.
Then, last year, suddenly his bubble burst. I was sitting with BaJji, in his old haveli
in Jaiselmer, when 1lme Singh came rushing to say ''All these hotel touts are behaving
like animals. They are belabouring all those foreigners, pulling them this way and
that, by their hands even by their clothing - come to this hotel; no, no, that hotel
- disgusting!" he exclaimed in finality.
There was a pause until Balji said: "Imagine the shame of it. How low can we
get and what a black day this is for our ancient township". Tane Singh, in a more
restrained manner informed me, "Do you know that in this rural town of ours, with
a population which has only just crossed 20,000, around 15,000 tourists visit
annually. We now have 44 hovels calling themselves hotels. What else do you then
expect but this undignified scramble, this pulling and pushing, including that of
women?"
"Tane Singh;' I wondered aloud, "What has happened to you'! What about your
advocacy of tourism'?" "You were right;' he conceded, "when you had warned us
earlier. How we have degraded ourselves. Look, what a joke this desert festival at
Sam is. Of course, our musicians get some money, and some patronage also, but
1he ,heer indignity of it all, having things like t urban tying competition, so alien
10 our thought. Our turbans are not just our distinctive marks, they are our pride.
How can you compete commercially in pride?"
"It is because some unthinking babu somewhere, as foreign to our district as
art the foreigners, thinks that tourism will be promoted by such exploitation'?"
remarked Balji and with more vehemence. "Don't you remember the indignity that
the\' inflicted on our Bheel and Girasia women at Abuji by arranging that insulting
'be;utv contest' for them and that too in the town? From where do such ideas about
come? Let travellers come, if they want to, for they share wil h ll'
But let these half clad tourists go - they only take away".
Singh in INOIAN EXPRESS 26 11IIvl9R9

Saving tradition from tourism
by Gaj Singh
Apropos of Jaswant Singh's'article, "What price tourism?'; the question surely
is who determines the price? Tourism is a "world phenomenon'; to borrow a
phrase frequently used by late Mrs. Indira Gandhi to brush aside debates on
the issue of corruption. No matter how distasteful we may find the degrading
effects of both these phenomena we cannot just will them away. It is only the
collective wi!l, or strength of a society, and one's faith in it that ultimately
triumphs or succumbs. That is the reality. Those of us who belong to the so­
called 'enlightened mainstream; quite understandably lament the corruption
of the character of simple yet proud and self-respecting communities, be they
in Jaisalmer, Kovalam, Ladakh orthe Andamun islands. We do so knowing that
we have ourselves long ago sJcrificed the native elements of our "national"
character (if indeed such an aggregate can be claimed). The last, vestiges of
swh character are still alive! but only in the extremities and remote parts of
our multifaceted land where the debilitating influence of "modern civilization"
are least felt, where people have retained a more direct correlation with nature's
beauties and hardships and where they are still rooted to a traditional way of life.
Can we really afford to ban tourism in such places? If so, do we have the
political system or will tor it? The answer surely is No. We do not even begin
to regulate the Inflow of tourists to sensitive areas, something that Bhutan has
done very successfully. But then Bhutan is a monarchy. In Jaisalmer, when it
was a kingdom they spurned all offers from the neighbouring State of Jodhpur
to extend the railway service to their city forfear of unsettling, outside influence.
In our kind of deficient and indisciplined democracy, it is still preferable that
the Jaisalmeri himself decides what is good for him rather than be dictated to
by an unimaginative Babu in Jaipur, or a romantic intellectual in Delhi. The
enlightened, collective approach should be to strive for greater freedom of
choice and to help these fringe communities to exercise that choice by
attempting to restore their self-confidence, to help them regain their pride by
recogn isi ng the merits of thei r traditional val ues and preservi ng the conditions
that sustain them.
An interesting study on the social and economic impact of tourism in Ladakh,
has been carried out by INTACH. It has revealed some startling facts. They show
that the Ladakhi is the least benefitted by the orchestrated boom in tourism
over the past few years. Obviously, there is much that is lacking in our official
zeal to launch tourism at any cost.
A striking example of this philistine approach was well illustrated by Chhaya
Mitra in your letters' column on July 27. It referred to the UP Government's
plans to develop "Gangotri into a tourist resort". This is clearly symptomatic
of our current national disharmony with local ethos, and disregard of the
sentiments of the different peoples of our land. Why places that for centuries
have been the centres of pilgrimage should be converted into "tourists SpO.ts"
is beyond comprehension. f)oes this not stem from some distorted interpretation
of secularism? No one doubts that facilities for Yatries need improvement, and
no one wishes to deny an oppo,tunity to other curious travellers from visiting
these hallowed places but to completely lose sight of their sanctity is an insult
to millions of pilgrim5 and to our ancient civilization.
Unless and until the people themselves (and by people I do not mean only
their elected representatives) have a greater say in determining and shaping
programmes designed ostensibly to benefit them, all that passes for development
to have any relevance. In tact it goes counter to national interest as has
been time ,md again. To derive the maximum benetit from tourism
not only must the locdl populdtiorl he tdkerl lully into confidence but also cl
thorough study involving sociologist" and
('conomis!) worKirlg closeiy with non-oifici,lI bodies, represerlting local interests,
..,llfJuld i)(' urlClertdKe!: hefore further ambitious (lild costly plalls are drawn up
lor the prOrllotl()ll 01 tourism
INDIAN EXPRESS. 9 )\lIglist 19B9
News & Views
Visit India Year
More than 2 million foreign tourists will be wooed to visit the country
during 1991, which has been designated "Visit India" year. Elaborate
plans have been drawn up by the government for attracting tourists to
nE:t an additional foreign exchange of Rs. 160 crores.
The main objectives of the "Visit India" year would be to promote India
as a destination for international tourism with a message to promote
universal brotherhood and international understanding; to project the
culture and handicrafts of India; to project greater awareness of the joys
of domestic travel; to promote within India an awareness of the need
to preserve the country's naturaL cultural and historical heritage; to
utilise the period as a "peg" for key touristic activities; and to instill a
renewed sense of purpose in all segments of government and industry.
Adventure sports such as trekking, car rallies, boat races, river
expeditions and wildlife will fonn the star attractions of the plans drawn
up by the Environment and Forest Ministry. The action plan prepared
at the behest of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, includes
augmentation of air travel facilities, hotel accommodations and
improved means of surface transport besides availability of skilled
tourism managers.
Officials say with the formation of the Tourism Finance Corporation
of India, tourism related activity cannot complain of paucity of funds
for developing infrastructure. "India Convention Promotion Bureau" set
up by the Tourism Ministry and Indian travel industry, is being geared
to take up the many-faceted challenges in promoting India as a
destination for conferences and international conventions.
Panna National Park
The tourism department of the Union Government has approved a
proposal from the Madhya Pradesh Government to develop Panna
National Park into a major wildlife tourist centre. The Centra! Govern­
ment is likely to grant Rs. 54 lakhs for the project.
Though the Panna National Park contains a large variety of wildlife
species, tourists are likely to feel discouraged due to the lack of proper
facilities. The Kanha and Bandavgarh National Park in the state have
been over-exposed to tourists who in some cases scared away wildlife
by moving in large groups,
TIMES OF INDIA, 23 June 1989
Inland waterways Project
The long serpentine stretches of Kerala's backwaters, a natural gift to
the palm-fringed state, are all set to get a face-lift thanks to the ambi­
tious inland waterways project being taken up by the Inland Waterways
Authority of Inqia (lWAI).
The IWAI has already commenced work on the 23 km Udyogamand­
alam canal, which is expected to increase tourist turn-out provided high
priority is given to the developmcnt of tourist infrastructure along thc
route.
Reactivation of water transport along this inland water mute, rich with
scenic beauty and exotic tourist locations like the Bolgatty Palace and
the Chinese fishing nets in Cochin, is expected to boost the state's
tourism in a big way.
TIMES OF INDIA. 19 JlInel9B9
Holy Men On Warpath
Holymen who seek nirvana in caves that abound on the snowswept slopes of
Mount Sudarshan which towers over Gangotri are on the warpath. They are
strongly opposed to the State Government's face-lifting plans for this sacred
Himalayan town, which is to be converted into a tourist resort.
Pilgrims from ail over the country trek to Gangotri each year, to the source
of the holy Ganges, considered to be the abode of Raja Bhagi rath who hrought
the Ganges down to earth. Swami Premanand, a sadhu, says "we won't permit
places of penance to be turned into honeymoon huts".
TIMES OF INDIA, 21 May 19B9
Tourist Resort Stalled
About a hundred villagers around Panshet Dam in the Sahyadri ranges forced
Maharashtra Minister of State for Sports, Mr. Sham Ashtekar, to abandon the
inauguration of a tourist resort and water sports centre.
The villagers led by Congress-I leader, Laxman Pasalkar, prevailed upon
Ashtekar and Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC)
Chairman Suresh Kalmadi, to announce that the resort and state's first aqua­
sports centre would be opened only after the grievances of the residents were
sorted out.
The villagers complained that the plans came up all of a sudden without
taking them into confidence. Their demands for rehabilitation of the Panshet
Dam-affected people, construction of approach roads in the hilly area and
provision of amenities like health services were not undertaken all these years.
Instead "Iakhs of rupees" were being spent for the entertainment of urban rich.
They maintained that opening of such a centre would lead to an onslaught
on the local culture. Already, holiday-makers from the cities were making merry
in the vicinity of the Panshet and the nearby Varasgaon Dam. They feared that
the flow of tourists would threaten security of the two dams which supplied
drinking water to Pune city and irrigation to farms downstream.
This is the first time that the MTDC's ambitious programme has been
challenged by the local people.
THE INDIAN POST, 8 August 1989
8
Apostcard Cremation
By Shobha De
It was obviously just another "made for tourists" cremation. The usual stuff.
A scruffy little Nepali boy tugged at my dupatta and urged me to climb to a
vantage point for a "better view". This Wd" at the peak of the summer
season in Kathmandu.
The
wa')the
was the Ilnal tOllch"
A morbid macabre monwill v.ould capture
mntor-drrven Nikons and sophisticated video cameras, to show off
to friends on their return home.
The setting was equally photo-worthy. And old, attractively ruined stone
krnplv along the banks of the Nepali Ganga. An ancient cremation ghat near
the rock\ and the spectacular Himalayas in the background. Overlooking this
location, was a small bridge across the river (reduced to a trickle during
Tourist buses could be parked a short cJistance away.
The momf'nt a bus rolled up, it was surrounded by groups of screaming
children, dressed in rags. In a high-pitched chorus they'd begin chanting "Dead
dead and stretch their grubby palms out. Soon, older
Taiwanese jeans and denim bomber jackets would appear f:'Om nearby souvenir
(huts, and take over the "Ten rupees for
for videos and movies:' Brisk negotiations with the
ensure, before leading the tourists
went along too, curious and fascinated. Since I didn't have a camera, I was
allowed to proceed gratis. From the narrow (where there was a great
deal of roughing up and jostling going on for the possible angle), I looked
down at the ghat where an old man's body was laid out over the usual makeshift
bamboo and straw stretcher. Obviously, he camp from a not-too-affluent
background, judging from the threadbare wh ite sheet that barely covered him,
and the few wilted garlands that were indifferently thrown across his emaciated
frame. Close by a couple of bored mourners waited patiently, cynically. I
wondered what or whom they were waiting for. A priest... or a larger crowd?
After about 10 minutes, a few more people shuffled in - the orofessionals. The
and started babbling
The keener shutterbugs
I'm not sure what the delay was about
insufferable heat) was beginning to get E
A few minutes later, a dhoti-clad relative came
overflowing with cremation trimmings. A tin of ghee was opened with
a sharp edged stone. A bundle of wood was untied and laid on the platform.
The audience jerked up- at last they were going to see some action. Almost
carelessly the mourners picked up the corpse and dumped it on the bed of
wood and straw. Ghee was carefully poured all over the wood. Suddenly it was
discovered that there were no
A couple of obliging urchins scampered down and gave them a I he
pyre was finally lit. rhis was my first cremation. I couldn't move away or avert
my eyes. I star'ed with horrified fascination as the flames up and the
crackle of the straw broke the eerie silence. There were no tears and no wails
- just the sound of the fire, the gentle bubbling of the nearbv rivulet and the
click-cl ick of the high-speed shutters.
local girl played unconcernedly with her baby brother.
the show to end so that they could pester the departi ng
get a buck or two. The early evening light was divine­
interesting shadows across the hridge. Looking at
the tourists and overhearing the guide's comments
l
it was easy to
discern the reactions. Death does have a ;nesmeric influence on even the most
hard-boiled
The were
rituals and beliefs. Most
whole thing was reduced to
atma. I heard one of them talking about how bodies on a burning pyre often
with a ierk because "the person doesn't want to leave the earth .. he or
earthly desires:' The soul hovers around and becomes a
Hindus call it bhoot. "Aw gee? That's kinda neat;' was one bermuda­
American tourist\ predictable rfaction.
great guns by now. Suddenly! one f'maciaterlleg emerged
on top of the corpse. Without a warning, the entire foot
swung around at the ankle. An audible, collective gasp echoed along the bridge.
It was absolutely bizarre. "Now you will get the smell of burning flesh;' the
announced with devilish glee and sure a sharp stench
accompanied by the crackling sound of fried skin (sounds awful, but
I canit think of a more apt term) floated up to where we stood, staring with
revulsion as the leg dangled and danced, before being poked back into
by an observant relative.
Soon it was khel khatam time. "This is all. It is finished now. You will not
be able to see anything more. The body will burn for two hours. Then the
relativp5 will collect the ashes and throw them into the sacred river. On the
13th daYI prayers will be held and brahmins will feast. Now, we will get back
into the bus and go to the next halt on the trip. You may give your
donation ... dollars allowed .. :'
The urchins jumped up from their various and clustered around with
their stickv hands and running noses. Cameras got replaced in their
cases. The corpse continued to burn quietly. Everybody had got
their money's worth ... except the one person who had held centre-stage at this
tamasha ... the "hero" of the day... who was steadily being reduced to an um­
fuli of still-warm ashes. The river was waiting...
TIMES or INDIA. n September 1987


to
WoylA···
The. »ta.pS e. II '.
II· Wttil ..
h,jrYL well···
'YOU MAY
YOJ
r \jJ( ARE M'lT
t\E.RE-
WIltRE ...\
(1 yO) ARE ARE
11M
if

Af__I!£
J,.J-',\
YoU (
V
./'-..5
DengOfVice
revenue, is indulging in some revisionism,
in forbidden cities. Or, as an official recently informed a
group of visiting Indian journalists, "We want to make night life in China more
vivid." One might wonder at the foolhardiness of the Chinese leadership in
encouraging this decadence when it has problems enough with democracy.
However, it has been clarified that the local population, for its own moral
salvation, will not be allowed into any of the proposed pleasure domes. Besides,
as an official confided, lithe Chinese may get drunk and make a nuisance of
themselves:' Thus one can see that Mr. Deng Xiaping's old "anti-corrosion
education" still holds and there is no deviation from the earlier policy of
modernisations with the five nds, \Alhirh fmh:lrJp :In\! rhinr>cp
came into contact with a
favOL;rs and "unhealthy books or containing
Ever since Paris went on a tOLlr of Helen by
has always demanded something more relaxing after they have trudged
through monuments all day, massage parlours adding just the right touch.
However, China is not going to be Shanghaied into becoming another flesh­
pot of the orient while ball-room dancing and billiards will be on the party­
approved list of Offici dis are being a bit of a tease on whether cabaret
will be permitted. But gambling is completely out, and the Red Army will not
tolerate red-light districts. A foreign tourist who imagines that Suzies will
he readi Iy avai lable would he quite wrong and held find himself in the soup
if he harboured such won-ton
Editorial in the TIMES OF INDIA, 12 August 1989
Tourism Crashes as Trade Stops
The mighty Nepal Himalayas have beckoned mountain climbers, trekkers, and
nature lovers from allover the world. While this has come as ablessing to Nepal,
which is poor in resources, it has also started a trend that could well lead to
ecological disaster.
Thousands of western tourists go to exotic spots like the Annapurna and
)haulagiri areas in mid-western Nepal and the Everest area in central
The extent of organised trekking in these saturated areas is n<:>'Jiro,hl"
to individual trekkers who go there, the latter posing a threat to 'the
environment. In the Annapurna and Everest areas, there is the added burden
of mountain climbers who take with them thousands of porters to
carry their mountaineering gear, food and other necessary equipment. These
Nepalese porters are forced to cut down trees to use them as fuel for cooking
and heating. The fragility of the Himalayan environment forbids this, as the
trees take a long time to grow in the rarefied atmosphere.
While tourism on one hand has contributed considerably to the deterioration
of the environment in Nepal, the present no-treaty situation with India has
adversely affected its tourist trade. In March 1978, Nepal and India for the first
time two separate treaties, the trade treaty for 5years and that of transit
for 7years. The trade treaty was renewed for 5 years till March 1988 while the
transit one was extended by a year on an adhoc basis until it expired on March
23rd
It is obvious that the present situation has brought real hardships to the
of Nepal. Amongother problems, the entire tourist trade had been paralyzed.
Hotels which are normally packed between April and August are empty. The
familiar sight of tourist buses moving lethargically towards the open Nepal
border, is no more to be seen. Officials of the tourism department admit that
tourist inflow has been drastically reduced by at least 80 percent.
The economic crunch has led to a growing frustration. Prices of essential
commodities have sky rocketed. The repercussions of this have seriously affected
the fortunes of tour operators. 'We do not know how we can offer a price which
the tourist can pay:1 wonders one tour operator. He points out that the prices
of and oetrol are so high that travel has become prohibitively expensive.
5
The Spoils of Nature
The flood of tourists to Kodaikanal
controllable. Hordes of so called educated people tumble out of buses, make
for the lake, unload their packages
in the water. Transistors blare
l
and air horns raise the noise
. proportions. Religious as well as commercial get-togethers make use of coile
type loud speakers (prohibited by lawl to spread their message. The mo,,[
objectionable result of this un-checked tourist influx is that the sewage
is simply unable to cope with the effluent discharged, and untreated effluent
from the toilets of hotels flow across the busiest section of the road leading
to the bazar. There have been several complaints to the hotel managers, the
police, and the township authorities. But no one is able to take appropriate
action and the grave health hazard continues. Then, some of the tourist buses
are so large that they cause traffic blocks whenever they arrive. Is it not
to restrictthe size of buses coming to Kodaikanal taking into accountthe narrow
width of the roads designed originally for humans and
The most disturbing situation of Kodaikanal is the pollution of the lake which
apart from being the main water source of the town,
water for both washing and drinking purposes to the city population. In an Open
Meeting organised by the PHCC on May 20, the figures of coliforrn,
and nitrate levels in the lake presented by Gerald Coleman of the Kodaikanal
International School made the audience sit up. Dr. B. B. Sundaresan, the former
Head of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute was forced
to remark that the situation should be checked before it got out of hand.
Obviouslv the sewage from domestic and commprcial establishments
has got to be arrested. And in any case until this is done, and a
of the water quality of the lake established,
further construction in the immediate watershed of the lake should be permitt
The Revenue Divisional Officer indicated at the meeting that as per the
directions of the Centre, no further construction will be permitted within a radius
of 500 metres of the lake. One can only hope that this intention will not be
allowed to be waylaid by unscrupulous commercial promoters.
by Zafar Futehally In INDIAN EXPRESS, 9 July 1989
ITDC: 'dismal show'
The Committee of Public Undertakings (COPU) has passed severe strictures
the Indian Tourism Development Corporation Ltd (lTDC), that
'u\rnothinn is
the working of ITD(, which for
corporation's hotels on par with the
In its 61st report on ITDC, the COPU said earnest efforts were
down the losses of these hotels by devising suitable methods of checks
and controls. It suggested a periodic review of the corooration's financial
performance at the ministerial level.
Taking a broader view of tourism industry, COPU said that there is an urgent
need to evolve an integrated approach towards rlevelopment dnd promotion
of tourism in the country.
that the average room occupancy of ITDC hotels was lower them that
of private sector hotels in all categories, the COPU said that while the average
occupancy of 3-star, 2-star and l-star hotels in the private sector was 74.2 per
cent, 66.7 per cent and 68.7 per cent respectivpl v
for ITDC hotels were 60 per cent, 41 per cent
said that eight of the ITDC hotels incurred mm ;,t.mth.
years.
Deprecating thp use of hotel for residential purposes by
managers, the committl'e said that the feasibility of constructing flats on the
land available within the hotel premises should be examined.
It also found that the outstandi ngs due to the corporation have beell
increasing, the amount at the end of 1987-88 being Rs. 1642.98 lakhs. It said
the corporation is losing heavy amounts by way of interest on the unrecovered
money. Government departments account for 55 per cent of the total amount
due to ITDe.
TIMES OF INDIA, 27 July 1989
Hope for Pattaya
by Paul Gonsalves
the recent (July 1989) Asian Ecumenical Conference on Tourism at Sri
Racha, Thailand, a small group of participants underwent an exposure
as Thailand's [premier beach resort;
is internationally notorious as a centre for sex tourism.
Barely a decade ago, Pattaya was a quiet fishi ng village, quite indistinct from
the many that dot the eastern coast of Thailand. During the Vietnam war,
servicemen from the nearby American of Sattahip began frequenting the
few bars that existed at that time. The soldiers often entered into liaisons with
local women, many resulting in illegitimate children.
The war ended, and lett a vacuum for the numerous bars, hotels and people
who worked in the village. In the mid-1970s, public and private sector investors
fTkbsive amounts of money in an effort to attract tourists.
is crawling with tourists of all nationalities, predominantly white and
male, and an estimated 50,000 women work in the 4,000 bars and go-go clubs
packed in the narrow strip at South Pattaya.
Observing the night-time scene, our small group was concerned about the
apparent lack of support for the many women and children who jive on the
fringe of the tourism industry. They have no legal status, and are harassed by
establishment-owners, tourists and the Crime rates are high. and
unwanted pregnancies, VO and AIDS reportedly
non-existence of counselling or crisis centres left us ctppctlleu.
During the vvorkshop that followed, one par1icipant stood out not in the high­
profile visible sense that most active meeting-goers do, but by her quiet, gentle,
interactions. Sr. Michelle Lopez, a Good Shepherd nun, works with women
in Pattaya, aiming to get them out of the prostitution trade and rehahilitated
in mainstream society. After much persuasion, Michelle agreed to speak to the
nClrtirinClntc about her pvnpr;pnrpc
which is
males, the
disharmony is evident when you see the houses where these women
live: totally at odds with the glamorous sleaze of their work
'I am challenged in my faith by the use of contraceptives, by the numerous
abortions which I know of, by the existence of minor wives. Should I restrict
my involvement because of these? How can I justify withdrawing, knowing the
need is so great?'
Michelle is strengthened spiritually by the words of the Buddha, who exhorts
us to 'awaken the person, and the awakened one will see'. She feels that the
theolc,glcal documents we produce at conferences such as the present one
sound 'but what happens to the langl'age of the victims?'
cope with the disharmony because I believe in my work. It iorced me to
rethink and relocate the values and beliefs which I had grown up with all my
life. I am still looking for an answer:
The presence of spirit-houses and religious artefacts inside the bars and
brothels confused many. Where do they fit in?
'The women are uncomfortable, ashamed, at a very
know it is not in accordance with Buddhist teneb.
merit as a
Buddhist lent to mdke merit at thei r vi I age.
they hdv(' done so, purified in some way. It
III Bangkok, the Good Shepherd sisters rlln a small vocational centre,
providing useful skills to young women, including Sri Lankan refugees. A day
care centre for young children of the neighbourhood is pal1 oftheir work. Most
leadership development programme "kills and motivation
to go back and work as village development workers, in some
medsure an dlternative to in the cities. Buddhist philosophY and
it'> exoression are central to Christian
Michfllr i<; a part.
Contact: Sr. Michelle Lopez, Good Shepht'rd Sister'), 18/65 Di n Daeng
ROdlt G'Hlgkuk, 10400, Tiklilc\i1d. ['!June, (02) 24'1.
4
Fighting Mail Order Marriages
can be bought like any product from a an exchange in case
dissatisfaction can be arranged, and instalment payments are common.
number of marriage seIVices in "Vest Germany "specialise" in Asian
obedient Asian wife and
There is an enormous demand for Asian brides, especially for women from
Thailand and the Philippines, according to Tippawan Duscha of the hankfurt­
based working group against international sexual and racist exploitation, or
AGISRA by its German initials.
_ . AGISRA
estimates. Pure profit for each bought bride is between $ 1,100 and $2,200.
There arc no reliable estimates of the number of women recruited in their
horne countries by agents of the marriage seIVices or newspaper advertisements.
But indication" are that the number is increasing, says
The Thai and Filipino women are often kept isolated from the world by their
German husbands and treated "like slaves" says Duscha. Many of these brides
learn little German and are often at the mercy of violent partners.
In a worse situation are the Asians who wind up in brothels and bars, or who
are illegally hired to work as housemaids.
AGISRA, as one of the few West German groups concerned with the
of sex tourism and trade in women, tries to offer helD to Asian women
The aid comes from ,vomen volunteer'S at
West Berlin, Cologne and Munich.
The group's comprehensive archive at the Frankfurt headquarters includes
stacks of catalogues from marriage services and newspaper advertisements.
Frequent information campaigns for public, and counselling and German
language courses for these women are also offered by the group, founded in
198.1
TIMES OF INDIA, 17 August 1989
Tourists attacked in Kenya
For the fifth time in 11 months, tourist.s watching African wildlife
in a Kenyan game park have been ambushed.
An American woman was shot dead and an American man was
wounded in the latest which happened at
27th. They were shot and 17 of t.heir companions
t.wo men when they were held up while
rU,l1UIJ;:>C;U and Tsavo national parks.
The two men, armed with AK-47 assault rifles, attacked the
tour group on the 60-kilometre stretch of road between the parks.
It was the latest in a series of assaults on foreign tourists.
The dead woman, identified as Marie Est.her Ferraro, was shot
through t.he head, said Frances Jones, a US State Depart.ment
The wounded man, Allen E. Sullivan, 66, said from Nairobi in
a telephone Interview wlLh a US newspaper, The Hartford
Courant in Connecticut,that he was not badly hurt.
Sullivan said two men, one dressed in camouflage-style
clothing, jumped out of the hush about. midday and began firing
at the tour group. The gunmen robbed the gr011p memhers of
their money and jewelery.
out. in the road and fired said Sullivan,
a retIre a hlgn scnool teacher from Trumbull, Connecticut.
Sullivan said one bullet grazed his face and then hit Ferraro on
the left side of her head.
BANGKOK POST, 30 )u!y1989
Tourism in the Philippines
(This is.l SUm[{)drv ahout tourism under A1arcm which appearooin a Philippine journal,
'Cordillera Currt'n6; pub/is/wei by the Cordillera Resource C:entre).
Under the rule of Marcos there was a massive increase in the promotion of
tourism. This was idrgely poiitical strategy to promote the Philippinp<
stable country and to guarantee
continued inflow of foreign aid and investment. The Ministry of Tourism, set
up in 1973, became one of the most powerful and autonomous arms of
government. Seeki ng to raise the profile of the Philippines events such as the
Miss Universe contest and the IMF-WB conference were hosted, though this
meant considerable investment in infrastructure to support these events with
little or no benefits to the development of the Philippines. More and more
funds were diverted into tourism, with the building of numerous
and supporting structures. With the growing evidence of
instability in the Marcos the illusion of the Philippines as a major tourist
destination crumbled, the government had the cost of its over-ambitious
tourist programme to add to its mounting $26 billion debt. So much for the
centre; it was in the regions that much of the real damage was done.
The northern provinces were particularly badly hit, perhaps in part because
they were the home provinces of Marcos and the tourism minister jose Aspi ras.
Iloicos I\orte for exarnple emerged with one of the best-paved road systems
in the country. Golf coursE'S were raised from land previously designated to
the Bureau of Fisheries, sleepy coastal towns
resorts. Typical of the ill-thought out tourist
the Marcos High-way and the Marcos Park where the benefits seem to be almost
exclusively for the benefit of the contractors. Both of these projects meant the
displacement of the Ibaloy people, and destruction of the land they had tilled
and lived off for centuries. The 49-kilometer Marcos Highway was intended
to improve access to the beaches of Agoo and other so-called tourist attractions.
But in construction costs alone the government spent over P129M, while the
Park consumed another P99.6M. The motorwav is nc
since travellers prefer the old road, and the Park drew
the economic cosrs are small when set next to the social costs
people of the area. The construdion of the
ricefields, fruit trees and water sources. The park displaced 81
and provided meagre compensation. The Min istry of Tourism offered some of
them the opportunity of living in a showcase vi Ilage for the tourists. All of them
refused. Now most of the park area has been returned to its origi nal inhabitants,
though during the fall of Marcos the Ibaloy families had already begun to reclaim
the land, planting banana trees on the golf course. The remaining infrastructure
of the Park will probably be turned over to the Bureau of Forestry and other
government agencies.
The commercialisation of indigenous culture continued in the towns. Baguio
City, Cordillera'S suburban centre was subjected to schemes to turn it, and the
Igorot culture, into a tourist attraction. Artifacts and items of Igorot material
culture traditional Iy seIVing economic and religious functions have been mass
produced and devalued. The Ministry of Tourism launched a Grand Canao,
at the first one of which Mrs. Marcos herself was present. Native priests were
invited to make offerings, animals were butchered and most of Cordillera's major
were invited to sing and dance. After 3 years the Grand Canao
wa!, mopped; protests from students and other groups showed the event up
for the sorry caricature that it was, The cynical exploitation of the Igorot culture
for tourism's sake has led to the denial of basic seIVices such as electricity to
the city's tribal people on the grounds that it would lessen the area's ethnic
appeal. In other,areas of the Cordillera region, such as Banaue, one can find
a 5 star tourist hotel where water is piped from asource 6 miles away. The houses
in the village 100 metres away have no water or sanitation. The hotel stockpiles
firewood for its fireplaces, but the people face a han on tree cutting.
While building up infrastructure, the Ministry of Tourism has ('I\",;donlh,
and failed to protect the natural tourist attractions
have been pilfered and 50ld including an
slipped out of the country and subsequently offered
museum.
9
Under Mrs. Aquino's government the of the country's tourist
departments has been reorgdnised. Despite this the governments five year
tourism programme holds little for the Cordillera, except for itscapital, Baguio.
The Afluino regime also seems to be
to generate hadly needed exchange .
economy. But there is no strong evidence that encouraging tourism does
tourists who come to Baguio for example, are serviced by travel­
dgents with japanese ti(.'-ups. They fly on Japanese Airlines, they stay in japanese­
owned hotels and very little oi their money really trickles into the local
Philippine economy. As a counter-step to the way in which tourism seems to
be developi ng, aTask Force on Tau rism has been set up, which has developed
a long-term National Tourism Plan under the Department of Tourism. Among
its aims it seeks to encourage 'active community involvement in all stages of
promote a climate for cross-cu!tural exchange, strengthen the
prCNiding activities tor foreign and domestic tourists,
n and preservation of local culture: But there is no
these goals, and the Neltional Tourism plan still puts
economic gOdls prior to socia-cultural goals, Those trying to protect the socio­
cultural heritage of the Philippines wait to see how effective such reforms can be.
- Julia Mosse
Goa to Peter Saldana, a
Saldlh!?jore;gtzerto Peter Saldana
'I reltskGoariJackand banana
4n,tJthe sorpotel dish,
:4.1ld:feni antifish,
4nd1o?E at myOWn
'Fi?imyloikfor Goat.$
Provence.
':rf;.eresjJlentyo.{s(;ope
For drag rind dope,
Andj'or.:qrztraband the.field is immense..'
'I'vettavetled, indeed very vastly.
I..ittmeassztreyou tit(? Medt'termnean is ghastly,
. You pay a whopping price .
Fo'r Carlo tmdNice,
But Goa.z'j· not at all i:V.5l/y: '
(i havenfor holz'day and rest,
And Goanfol:ks do look a guest.
fbuare,atl very kind.
A1idY0'iJ,r cops don l mind
Sleazy crookS like us./rom the West.'
My landlady £s Mrs. Joyce Fernandes.
I tell her how wonderful I,er land is,
So picturesque, so cute
Are Anjuna,CalanKute,
And how silvery at CO/r1fZ the sand is.)
'Since none C!/ our g'irls is a prude
Those are.fi'ne spots, indeed. to be wooed.
As you know, cloth
Is eaten by motlt.
iFe prefer making love /J'l tIle nude:
'But summer here
VOl;fa
l
I must catell
Stacked with a haul
q/hash/or Nepal.
Shall be back in Goa the rain.'
10
Travellers' Tales
Granta 26: TRAVEL, Sprin9 1989, Penguin Books, UK
The art of travel writing is probably as old as Megasthenes, the Greek
traveller whose meticulous recording of India in the fourth century BC
was the forerunner of many later ventures in the genre. The British were
the ones who honed it to a skill. The expansion of Empire had probably
something to do with it - the need to explain, to evoke, the lands coming
under the Pax Britanica to the folks back home. lt was also the Age of
Explorations, when intrepid travellers penetrated to places where no
white man had set foot before and 'discovered' them, so to speak, in print.
Thus Wilfred Thesiger traversed the Empty Quarter, Richard Burton
sought Arabia (thus setting the trend for the whole 'Laurence of Arabia'
school of writing), Alexandra David Neel went off to find magic and
mystery in Tibet, and so on.
The key work in all this was 'exotica'; this brave band were seeking the
mysterious, the marvellous, the bizarre. Their descendants, however, ­
say, Laurence Durrell, Geoffrey Moorhouse, even V. S, Naipaul- had an
added aim. Their impulse was to seek the very soul of a society. Through
the vivid, telling prose, the descriptions of scenery, architecture and
random conversations, they were after the single leitmotif - an incident
or anecdote - which would explain the entire ethos, culture, philosophy
and very probably the future too of the place they were writing about.
To this has been added yet another element: politics. Much contem­
porary writing on distant, unknown places originates as reportage - the
wars, the famines, the disasters, Somehow, all the still unknown worlds
(unknown to the West, that is) seem at the mercy of totalitarian rulers,
beset by colonialism, underdevelopment and poverty. The human
condition of those who live in such locations, their environments, their
threatened cultures, can all be traced in some way to the functioning of
their political structures.
The selection of travel writing in Cranta 26 (Spring 1989 issue) all bears
witness to this. The questions this anthology poses on its back cover
are revealing: 'What kind of writing do travel writers write now( How long
can the exotic remain exotic?' These questions are revealing because
all but two of the essays are on third world countries (Africa has the
largest share) and the Eastern Bloc. The two essays that deal with the
first world - both on the American Midwest are devoid of any political
slant whatsoever. It is as if in these days of easy travel, of open frontiers
and the all-seeing eye of television, the last resort of the exotic is totali­
tarianism.
The essays in this book are of a formidably high quality. Ryszard
Kapuscinski's laconic exegesis of life in ldi Amin's Kampala (,Christmas
Eve in Uganda') is a masterpiece of prose. He describes his efforts to buy
fish in this frightened, malevolent town; the arrival of a truck laden with
fish was at first greeted with delight, then by fear and revulsion. The fish
were from the lake at Port Bell, the same lake in which corpses from ldi
Amin's torture chambers were dumped, that explained the fat, sleek
Costly Everest Climb
quality of the merchandise.
The political message is more explicit in Jeremy Harding's 'Polisario',
.Mountaineers win have to climb over trash from previous expe­
an account of the long, expensive, undeclared war in the Sahara and of
.. ditionsto get to the top of Mount Everest, and pay more to do it
the enormous wall the Moroccans built which the desert wind and sand
starting this season. ConselVationists have called for amoratorium
is already eroding. Harding's account in enlivened by the chaos in his own
qndimbin:gMt Everest because it is polluted by rubbish, but cash- .
private life: his fears that his wife might leave him for a German architect
strapped Nepal seems to need the money. Nepal's Tourism Ministry, I
who was wooing her with outsize boxes of chocolates.
whic:hcoordin:ates climbing activities in the Himalaya. this week.;. .
The note of personal self discovery is also sounded in Colin Thubron's
announced steeper autumn rates for mountaineering expeditions. I
account of making a television documentary on the Old Silk Route and
the artifice they had constantly to resort to make it look 'real' on the box,
Norman Lewis on Siam and Ian Buruma on Taiwan are both requiems for
dying cultures - the authentic Taiwanese one being swamped today by
a mix of mainland Chinese, Jnd American Kitsch; allel the
trilditional Thai way of life being losllo eilter AIlIericana .. a mix of
"drinking whiskey, danring in puhlic ilnrl strip lease", The tone is
more-in-sorrow-than anger, but in fact neither emotion really gets
through.
The essays on the Soviet Union are immeasurably more powerful,
possibly because the overly moral tone is lacking. Bruce Chatwin (to
whose memory this volume is dedicated) has three very short pieces, but
they convey the flavour of pre-glasnost life, for instance in the terse
portrait he draws of Nadezhda Mandelstamlying on rumpled sheets, out
of official favour, longing for trashy thrillers and English marmalade.
Similarly, Patrick Cockburn (Notes from Abroad: Moscow) describes a
foreign correspondent's life as glasnost was creaking into action and the
Soviets, slowly but surely learnt the previously purely western art of
saccharine public relations. His last sentence gives away the hidden
assumption in most of the pieces in this volume: "I missed the sense of
exclusion, of being a permanent outsider. lt was time to leave".
John Ryle's account of the systematic persecution of the Dinka tribe in
Sudan is an authentic classic of today's brand of travel writing. In very
understated prose, yet with a faint but discernible undertone of anger,
Ryle documents the plight of the Dinka who peacefully herded their cattle
for centuries, but today live in the shanty towns of Khartoum as a result
of forces - governments, political interests, tribal rivalries and Libyan
arms and money - they do not even begin to understand.
Very different in tone and perhaps the most interesting pieces in the
issue, are the two accounts of the American Midwest. Bill Bryson's 'More
Fat G'irls in Des Moines' is a peppy account of his journey through Iowa,
Illinois and Missisippi - middle America at its most tasteless, barren and
bizarre. It's funny, irreverent and vivid, but this style has its own limits:
''It looked the sort of tidy, friendly, clean-thinking college that Clark Kent
would have attended", and many more such zippy one liners. Even so it's
a welcome relief from all the suffering humanity of the other pieces.
Amitav Ghosh (The Circle ofReason, The Shadow Lines) writes awry,
spare account of the 'Four Corners', the point where the states of
Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona meet, right in the middle of the
flattest, most uninteresting bit of countryside in America. Here two
notional lines intersect. This area was once the 'Glittering World' of the
Navajo tribe, where they lived for generations evolving a sophisticated
system of beliefs and behaviour but these couldn't withstand the guns of
the American Army. Today, Four Corners is a tourist pilgrimage where
Americans in Recreational Vehicles - a sort of state of the art trailer ­
draw up, strike interesting poses for their photo albums and buy Navajo
kitsch souvenirs. Ghosh's article is specially interesting because it's an
almost anthropological account of late twentieth century American
Midwestern social behaviour written without overt comment It is also
refreshing to have a third worlder writing about the poverty of advanced
societies.
Ranjana Sengupta in EXPRESS 9 July 1989
,,-.
-...-.'--l
!
Mt. Everest will have the highest price tag -- a little over $3,000
for a climb. This is a 20% increase over present rates. Mountains
between 7,500 and 8,000 metres high will cost just over $1 AOO '
. and peaks less than 7,500 metres can be booked for $1,000.
iNDIAN EXPRESS, 17 August 1989
3
Tourism And Nona-Governmental
Expeditions (NGEs)
The interest/incidence of both NGEs and tourist groups in the Antarctic is fast
increasing. NGEs see the Antarctic as the last great 3rena for wilderness
adventure, and commercial operators see a virtually untouched field of
opportunity,
This rapidly developing interest is potentially threatening to the protection
of the Antarctic as a wi Iderness. Several groups in Austral ia, for instance, have
indicated interest in the construction of a 747-capable runway and hotel complex
near Davis, a major Antarctic scientific 'oasis: The projects envisage a week­
long package for the well-heeled tourist. Avoiding the admittedly rough sea
passage through icebergs and sea ice, visitors would arrive without acclimat­
isation and an appreciation of the vulnerability of the region.
Because of the extremely small percentage of the continent which is ice-free,
any shore-based tourist development wi II be competing for space with other
Iife forms, and areas such as flora and fauna concentrations, which tourists wi II
want to see, will surely be threatened. Disruptions to scientific programmes
will also be likely as hotels will necessarily be sited near existing bases.
Controlled ship-borne tourism reJ-lresents one possible acceptable way to
convey people to this wonderful continent: the approach by sea enables one
to appreciate its isolation, and the beauty of icebergs and pack ice. Onshore
tourist impact can be minimised in this way; guided day trips to sites of interest,
especially to areas which have lost their pristine quality.
However, a precedent has been set for shore-based tourism. A40-bed hotel
has been constructed at Teniente Marsh, a Chilean base on King George Island.
In this case, the development appears to be part of a a 'colonisation' process,
to 'support' Chile's claim to Antarctic Territory.
Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalitioll, Australia
•• cfesired...no/fJtbefpf .ll,te...................
fn·(1t1 effotttoi::'
.. '
"'. .... g!vetheffl$tlnklingtd the visitorsofthe
ies.s.ofthe.kJcaI4uJhoriticS;{heentfl'e,rolJtelsdotted withheaps . ...
hugeboutders.There .' ..
,.are noexc;luslve transport sYfJtems{or the touristst who hal1e totrave/
'.::JlJcrowdedpublicbuses to reach the resort, 18 kmsaway;' .
," delivered to the beach byencroachers with the
.:iacqulescenceofa previous sfategrwernment {TDC hadacquiredalarge
stretr;hof the /)each when the hatel was started in Kavalam. Soon the
hotel was encroached upon by traders and
. ,'#ndesiralJ(es.:.!\fJOwnas beach, it has growninta a den ofall
·.·VicestlSsociati:d with international tourism including drug trafficking.
The state. gOvernment has done precious little ta rid the place of the
growingdrugttade. Nudity is common anda large number oftourists,
.foreign and domestic, dread the area.
THE WEEK. 26 May 1989
palni Hills Conservation Council
The Palni I-lills Conservation Council is a secular, voluntary, non-po!itical
organisation for public welfare and scientific research. The work of the PHCC
falls into three main categories:
* Publicity dnd awareness generation
* Environmental policy, research dnd implementation
* Development programmes.
Aprimary objective is to arouse interest and acceptance of the programme
of conservation, particularly in the Pal ni hi II villages, as also in the increasi ngly
important hill resort of Kodaikanal, South India,
Avideo fi Im on the sholas (tropical evergreen forests) has been made, Jnd
another on environmental degradation and drought in the plains and Palnis
is nearing completion. A number of pamphlets on their tree planting prog­
rammes and the necessity to safeguard water sources have also been prepared
for distribution.
The PHCC has given informed suggestions on the Tourism Master Plan for
Kodai, and has even filed cases against two luxury resorts Mis Sterling Resorts
Pvt. Ltd" and Mis Dalmia Group of Enterprises.
Sterling Resorts planned to construct a 146-apartment complex on the Kodai
lakeside, partly upon a perennial marshland which acts as a reservoir and filter
for the potable quality of water feeding into the lake, The petitioners had first
sought the intervention of both the Central and State governments, but as those
were not forthcoming, went to court. In an interim order of the Madras High
Court in April 1988, the company was allowed to proceed with the construction
but was restrai ned from letti ng in any sewage or other effl uents into the lake.
This order was later confirmed, and the company ordered to construct a sewage
treatment plant.
In the second case, Dalmia Enterprises proposed to demolish a traditional
building (in perfect condition) on the lakeside, which it had acquired as a
corporate guest house, Upon the site, they proposed to bui Id a 72-apartment
complex, to be let out on a time-sharing basis. The land was within the 200
meters ban limit, and although the Kodaikanal Township rejected
the company's proposal initially, they were later requested to revise their order.
The PHCC believes that the Resort 'blatantly violates zoning and other
municipal regulations; is ecologically hazardous, and aesthetically indefensible
on the hill landscape. The petition is still pending.
Disturbed Ladakh
The Buddhist dominated frontier region of Ladakh in Kashmir is now witnessing
a highly explosive situation. Buddhists, at leastthe more militant among them,
led by the Ladakh Buddhist Association are on the warpath.
The current disturbances have been attributed to the increasing discontent­
ment among the Ladakhis over two issues - the alleged neglect of their land
by the authorities and their "meagre" in state services. ThE'
agitators are demanding separation from Kashmir, and Union Territory status
for the frontier region. They have started a campaign seeking the ouster of all
Kashmiris from Leh, thp capital of Ladakh, on grounds that the latter have not
only usurped Government jobs but also monopolised trade and commerce,
particularly the tourist trade. Leh is annually by an estimated 15,000
foreigners, who bri ng in around Rs. 10 crores.
There have been incidents of arson, assault on Kashmiri traders and others
from outside, and damage to public property. Tourist le,lYing Lch have come
under heavy stoning, and some of them have been set on fire. Injured drivers
and tourists alleged that the police had refused to help. Trawl agents, hOlN'
boat owners and others connected with tourism haY(' decided not to carry ,m)'
tourists, in protest against the State Administration's failure to provide protection
to property and lives of Kashmiris. Local authorities, have meanwhile, advised
in Sri nagar not to proceed to Leh, or only at their own risk.
DECCAN HERALD, 13 1989
wrought in concrete or earth. Built in the late 19605 following the Soviet invilsion
of Czechoslovakia, these round-shaped fortifications have room for no more
than one man and his rifle or machine gun, and it is difficult to conceive how
they might help offer more than token resistance to a modern army. Yet they
are a reminder that the cult oj resbtance to foreign intruders remains deeply
ingrained in the Albanian soul.
Albania has sufTered invasions throughout its history. crueiest and longest
occupation, by Turkey, Idsted five centuries, ending relatively recently, in 1912.
the' exception of 25-year interlude in the 15th century, only twile has
the 5mall Balkan natiol1 iOlllld itself free from foreign rule-in the interval
iJetween the twe world wars and from 194
1
1to date. It was in 1944 that a guerrilla
"truggle led by Enver Hodxa, then a teacher at the French in Korce, asmall
southeast(:>rn town managed to free the country from Nazi occupation - an
Ilmrecedented feat, accomplished with no outside help. It is no wonder, then,
Albanians are fiercely nationalistic.
Prior to 1944,. Albania was Furope's most backward
rate of 80 percent, no universities, very few doctors and
few olaces of entertainment. The country had no railroads either.
Albanian peasants, and (inset) national hero, Skanderbeg
Albania is still poor when compared with the
rest of Europe. Nevertheless, Albanians live today above the DOVCrtv level: there
are jobs for everyorle and health care is provided free by
When traveling in the countryside, I saw no or
Vegetable stores and small shops, usually modest in appearance, offer a variety
of basic foodstuffs and products and customers do not have to wait in !ine
for two or three hours as they do in the Soviet Union. People are reasonably
well dressed, although jewelry and fancy clothing are conspicuously absent
from feminine apparel. Albanian children do not play with toys like their
Western counterparts; their parents make rag dolls or put together wood-and­
wire toy cars.
With the exception of a monument erected in
who i:, said to have used herds of gOdts to help
amJ Enver Hodxa's tomb set on Tiran('\ highest spot - hath of
but simple I saw no adorned artwork. Albania is a
who lead modest lives. Apartment buildings,
eSSen(ldl\ recall the collective housing found in some poor
n ..iphborhoods. The tourist would be hard put to find a luxurious
house or that would symbolically distinguish state or party officials
:rom the rest of True to its ideology; Albania ha<;
none with All Albanian workers earn between .500 and
1,000 {US$l which makes the top s,llafY
2
double the lowest. All soldiers wear the same uniform in the army: officers
from their suhordinates only by an additional star or two.
for the official cars at the service of ministries
buses or motorcycles, Albania is a silent
cows, trucks and
i1 SIght that can be seen nowhere else in
Few tractors or modern machines are used for plowing: everything is done
mostly by women, since most men hold factory jdJs. At midnight
I watched a lonely street sweeper from my hotel window in downtown
Tirane (population 250,000) as he methodically tidied up the square's walkwavs.
If any late night pedestrian happened across the sqUdre, the sweeper
back to erase the foot
By day, the Albanian capital is a fJ"ULCI UI,
the neurotic hubbub of our metropolises
and no pollution. After a 17-year
downtown Tirane were two new traffic
museums where the extraordir
The old statues of Stalin and Lenin
Heroes.
Ti rane's main mosque remains closed to the
the government shut down ali of the country's churches, mosques and
synagogues, not a single religious temple has opened its
The cathedral in Shkoder, in northern Albania, was once one of the major
CatholiC temples in southeastern Europe; now it is a sports center. In the Adriatic
resort of Durres, the local mosque has been turned illto a cultural center,
complete with a dance hall. In Berat, a small town in central Albania, I saw
two warehouses installed on what used to be the main floor of a mosque.
Albania is probably the only country in the world where religion is outlawed.
The only available copy of the Bible is kept at the National Library in Tirane.
Albanian authorities have been seeking to put new life into principal churches
and Orthodox chapels by tuming them into public museums. They all sport
a banner above the main entrance ('voking a phrase by Hodxa proclaiming the
value of old national
that 6,000 icons are
that, in addition to its historical sites at Butrint and Apollonia - dating back
from Roman and Greek times -- Albania has an abundance of
mosques and chapels attesting to the fundamental role religion played in
consolidating the nation's culture.
But Albania has more to distinguish itself from the rest of the world than the
fact that religion and public worship have been banned under the constitution.
It is also the only country in the world where the prices of basic goods have
remained stable for 45 years - some thing that Brazi lians, Israelis and Chileans
may find hard to believe. And there's more: the price of sugar dropped
from 10 leks to 8 leks a kilo. Better salaries have risen steadily since
end of World War II, while the gap between minimum and maximum wages
has shrunk. All this is part of the Albanian reality, although it might be
considered absurd by capitalist free market adherents.
Regardless of what people may think, it is worth exploring how and Why a
country has managed to keep prices stable for 4S year,> without suffering an
economic and financial catastrophe. To be sure, Albania still lives off resources
that may seem archaic to us in the West. Some 350 kilometers of railroad have
been built by brigades of young volunteers who have also planted thousands
of vineyards and olive trees on the mountain slopes in the south. The Socialist
People's Republic of Albania remains an agricultural nation that exports wine,
olives, nuts and sheep to the rest oi Europe - but it is also the world's third
producer of chromium, trailing only the Soviet Union and South Africa.
to its hydroelectric potential, Albania also exports electric power to five
European nations, including Austria, and may soon exporting oil.
In 1989. Albanian officials are scheduled to attend mini<:tnJ-! ..vpl
in southeastern Europe. The results of those
whether this country, which at present keeps diplomatIC
with 100 other ndt;ons, plans to open up
independence.
THIRD WORLD, April 1989
11
Tourism Concern Activities
In d previous issue oiANt we had announced the iormation ol the Tourism
Concern Network in England. Below are listed projects, both ootential and
in which membels of the steering group are engdged.
Education: Irmut into production of a leaflet on tourism and ,..jP\lolnnmnnt
lpanying workshop in a school's
Centre for World Development Education (C\lVDE), schor!. ,(,,<1
Production of source based materials on tourism'S impact
\Jew College Durham. Production of
schools pack on tourism in the Third
of three BlickwC'chse! film for tourists. Producing
for teachers. Developing cl worbhop on tourism
• Developing a session on tourism's impact.
Public /Tourist Education: DeSign and implementation of a project to mount
an exhibition along the lines of the European Tourism with Insight stand.
the most of your Holiday. Responsive Traveller's
'.
:nfluencing Tourism Development: Consultations for dGldemics, writers, tour
operators exploring is<;lJPs. (May 24th The Social Dimensions of
Tourism) • Criteria for Tourism Development·· circulating their criteria to
donor agencies involved in World Development Projects, Or1 behalf of TEN
(Third World l()urism European Network) .. Contact with Intasun rf'v;lrrliniJ
operation in Goa.
Supporting Alternatives: Production of a Responsive Traveller's Handbook,
with suggestions for non 'package' travel. Circulation of leaflet on small-scale
tourism initiatives in Asia to independent travellers, with requests tor feedback.
For details wntact: Alison StdncliHe, 8 St. Mary's Terrace, Ryton, Tyne and Wear,
NE40 3AL U.K.
Sexual Assault in Pattaya
Pattaya last month was assaulted. For various
have earned a notorious reputation for
of vice, and simplv leaving crimes and their
to take the woman back to her
taken to Jomtien beach and
at the hotel knew what Anne had
to an hour later,
THE NATION, Bangkok, 31 July 19SQ
THAILAND: Anti-AIDS campaign
number OIle health threat, and is
, ' relations experts to launch a
allli-KlV,) The Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan and
chief Chava!it Yongchaiyudh have agreed to support the campaiqn
AIDS.
has gained notoriety as a major destination for sex
and recent surveys showed 3,000 prostitutes here were carrying the
virus (HIV). Tn addition, an estimated 44,000 heroin addlcts here are also
HlV carriers.
the anti-AIDS drive is Mr. Mechai Viravaidhya, a marl who is
for Thailand's highly-successful mass education
population control. Mr. Mechai masterminded gimmicks like
conrJnm-hlnwino cOlltests and free vasectoflljes on the King's birthday to
planning in Thailand.
"People want the government to do more and encourage others to do
more," said Mr. Mechai in an interview.
In the Dast Thailand, like other developing countries troubled
attempted to keep official statistics under wraps
discussion about AIDS in public. Some observers have speculmea
Thai officials were protecting a flourishing sex industry
millions of tourists to the country in recent years.
A priority in the government campaign will be the country's network
of massage parlours and brothels for Thais and foreig ners. Cllofficidl
estimates of the total number of prostitutes in Thailand range from
to
1101l0lJU ;:,ay that if continues unabated,
the virus will cut a rapid and deadly course through the populace. The
officials also fear that a widespread AIDS outbreak will strain the
country's limited public health facilities.
A law requiring brothel owners to cooperatE will be
enforced later this year, with mil
not testing, has become the Thai
organisations have
and a number of them have
ness programmes of their own. One such camDaiqner
homosexual who has a jazz dance
gay bars.
TIMES OF INDIA, 18 Auguq 1989
Saving The Periyar
and private agencies, local bodie5 and
Qrganisations have come forward to save Periyar, the river in Ker,lld, frolll
and other problems.
Periyar is considered the main lifeline of Keraf:a as the state derives m;lIlifold
benefits from the river including power generation irr;,,,,ti,,,,
development, industrial activity,
construction.
contributed
Sanctuary, Ihekkady and tht> B(;thclthankettu ReservOir
for boat cruiSing ilrc potential tourist
According to a recent study, the waters of once to I){'
curative, are highly polluted now. The rivpr (,l1H101 be lbPd (''It'll tor d hdth.
Thf' industries dependent on the Periyar punm ,lbollt 13 Itlkh ()f
effluents into it d'lily. This h(lS affecwd fi:;hing and often lhe dWllli(
that fln,ll up d(wL
Some 300 delegates e'lVironment,llists, scientists, goV('rnnH'rlt of/it i<ll, dlld
industrialists, clssembled on June'lrd under ,1 pandal spt lip hpsici(' the fhlVdi
were tilerl' for oreiiminarv 011 dll dclion nl,m to "S,lVP
INDIAN fXPRESS. 4 jllllC I'm'); ,v.. DECCAN HERALD. II Jt;m' 1'!Wl
12
We invite Network members to contribute to the Network Letter
NETWONK
sharing their work, dlUI plans through these
NEWS
Communication is vital to the life of a
NOUNDUP physical distances cannot easily be bridged
ISTRAD, Ludnow. India EQUATIONS, Bafl'Qalo'l'e
ISTRAD, the Indidn Society for loumm Research & In late we hosted 2 meetings. Thefirst, in collaboration with
of the Centre for lourism Re5earch. tounded by Tej Vir and PENFRIEND, a collective of young journalists, was an attempt to understand
ISTkAD has a small resource centre. does' research. and the role of media, especially responsible media, in the context of Indian tourism
seminars on variullo aspects 01 tourism. open to scholars dnd issues. About 15 persons participated, representing a wide range of print media
others internationally. ISTRAD proposes a seminar in 1990, on Third World Karnataka.
Tourism (Strategies for Sustainable Development), and would appreciate As a to our 1988 study on the impact of tourism on coastal south
enquiries from potential participants. Write to Ms. Shalini Singh, ISTRAD. we met with members of the National Fishermen's Forum, atrade union
A-965/6 Indiranagar, Lucknow - 226 016. of traditional fisherfolk. Both meetings resulted in forfuture action, and
reports wi II soon be Clvailahle from us.
GoenRaranchi Fouz. Goa
The JGF or Vigilant Coans Army, which celebrated 2 years of its existence in
has cal It'd for a boycott of the Ramada Hotel in Coa. I:l Octoher 1988, RESOURCES
the )GF filed a writ petition' in the Iligh Court against the Ramada. citing
The View from the Countryside: Some Basic Notes about Perceptions on
vioiations of and construction norms. In April 1989, a special leave
Tourism of the Host Communities, by Thelma Cataquis et ai, Centre foi
petition was in the Supreme Court. the court-appointed
Tourism, Rm. 103, L. J. Henson Bldg., 494 Soldado Street, Ermita,
presented a negative report on the Ramada, hoth the courts ru led
favour of the hotel. The JGF has asked for wide to the details of
the case, and tor letters of protest to the Goan and Union governments.
endeavours to delineate the different of the affected local
::.ay that pressure must be built to prevent accreditation of the Goa Ramada by
pOPUlation on the impact of tourism (In Puerto a Filipino town. Based
Ramada InternJtional. Write to Proi. Sergio Carvalho, 2 Liberty Apts., Feira Alta,
survey, it affirms previously maintained positions on the impacts
Mapusa, Goa - 403 507, India.
lalleo tourist traffic, and documents and negative effects on
population. The significance of the lies in its
of small communities to carrv out their own to determine
illterveni ng in a situation of to them.
The Cook Islands Tourist Industry: Ownership and Planning, by Simon Milne,
in PaC/i?e Viewpolilt, 28 (2), 119-138, 1987.
This studv analyses the effectiveness of the stated objective of maximising
for the local community in income and employment generation
tourism in the Pacific Cook Islands. It discusses the patterns of owner-
and accumulation, and observes that present tourism trends have
to ach ieve the Government's In cond usion, the study suggests
that apart from the purely economic the way in which local
can participate in, and receive benefits tourism needs to be taken
consideration while planning for the
The Responsive Traveller's Handbook, Centre for the Advancement of
Travel, 70, Dry Hill Park Road, Tonbridge, KentTN10 3BX, United
HELP Asian Women's Shelter. To1<yo. JdPiln
Kingdom.
at the July meeting at Sri Thai land. Mizuho Matsuda of HELP,
The first edition of the Responsive Traveller's H,lIldbook dims at providing better
suggested that at the roots of the entertainment industry in JJpan (which
links between growing numbers of travellers, tour operators, trawl agents and
thousands of Asian women) are factors like the traditinn:.l
I
"
host peoples concerned to improve existing styles of pleasure and business
Japanese culture, tht' working day, and the f,;"h"",(;t
tourism. The first part introduces and offers on
nature of the ADart from, of course, the
rrd\!elll'ng. The second is an introduction to the Idea of alternatives
unemployment conditions the countries from where
;J,h!prc;plv affect the hosts or their environment. The final
mostly Thailand and the The HELP Shelter
of resDonsive t"lYel ODDortunities, both
services to women who it, including assistance with
rehabilitation dnd repatridtion. Write to Mizuf:o at HELP. Japan Women\
Christian Temperance Union, 2-23-5 Hyakunin-cho, Shinjuku-ku, 169.
Tourism and Environment in Thailand: National Parks for Sale, Ecumenical
Coalition on Third World Touri<;m, P() Box 24, Chorakhebua.. Bangkok lO230,
Department of GOd University
Thailand
Alito Siqueir.1, d lecturer tit the University. appro2ciwd us ('c)rly year lur
information on tourism, intt'nding to develop part of an MA in GOdn
A compi la!ion of clippings and e<.iitorials from the Post and !/If> Nrlt/0/7
culture ;1Ild We are delighted to hear from Alito that the University on the proposal of tlw Tourism Authority ofThailand to open up Thai national
h,)'; approwd course, which will foclis on the impacts of tourism, and parks for private tourism deve:opnwnt. Economists, environmentalists and legcll
the current debdte on tourism in COd. Lecturers will include' those who haw
experts argue thilt of national pdrks threatens the country's last
bf'cn Ifl the forefront of the struggle, like Sergio Carvdlho of the j(;F. We art'
irreplace,lble genetic of plant clnd anirnell specips.
to d ('oncern, and
the naturdl Pflviroflillent by
Piluk('t
P1,bli,hed by. [qL.itlhlc Option, (EQUATIONS). ')(,. II C"lu!lY. :,ld I, j),lf1i:di()((' r;w J W. INDIA.
ilnd R,'vi'lidlity DigltN'ci [')1,,·,..,1111'; d HI Crc'i1hlC D!"lgll. I,IV"II,' Ru,(d, Bdng,ilo:('. indl,1.
ALTERNATIVE NETWORK LETTER
A Third World Tourism Critique
For Private Circulation Only Vol. 5 No.3 September 19H9
S
PEAKING with a friendly waiter at a beach-side restaurant at Kovalam
Kerala's 'premier' resort j enquired whether the 'arrack'
Silent Country
liauor) some tourists wpre being served was distilled from the coconut
By Edouard Bailby
what we tell them, actually it's made in the village: he
F
OR decades, Albania's three milli.on have lived In near
a chemical concoction, quite likely a health
isolation from the rest of the world. Since the end of World Wdr II, the
This to me was yet another example of the invariable victimisation
country has severed long-standi ng relations with its three main ideo
tourism. The tourist gladly pays for genuine fakes - 'hey, that's
logical allies - Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic
- and is hardly expected to know that, for exampie, illegally brewed
in that order. Enver Hodxa, the man who led Albania into independence in
arrack has been the cause of hundreds of deaths in India. The host community,
1945 and remained the country's top leader until his death in 1985 ilt age 77,
equally, smilingly accepts the small change that is thrown its way by itinerant
used to say, "We'll eat grass if we must but we'll remain independent:' In fact,
visitors, and pays eventually with irreparable loss of culture and identity. All
the Socialist People's Republ ie of Albania has willi ngly renounced the assistanCl'
for the sake of an immediate economic benefit, instant gratification.
of its former friends in favor of the Marxist-Leninist concept of a dictatorship
The tourism whirlpool is a never-ending vicious circle, expanding its contours
of the proletariat.
all the while. trapping numbers in its wake. As
visited Albania for the first time in 1971. As a reporter for the Paris-based
offer traditional hosoitalitv. Cultural exchange
! was - after lengthy negotiations ­
a feat. Only half-a-dozen Western
Short Term Highs
permit from the I irane ar.\I·»rnmpnt
Seventeen years later, on French magazine Ceo, I again set foot
economic advantages are touted by city-based intellectuals and the media. The
on Albanian territory - this time holding a collective visa as a member of a
governments follow suit, offering massive incentives to the travel and hotel
small group of tourists. For an entire week I traveled allover the country,
industry - the taxpayer ends up subsidising the coffers of some distant capitalist,
from north to south on a bus owned by the state-run tourist agency, since no
domestic or multinational.
other means of transportation was available. Indeed, it is sti II illegal to own an
India is estimated to have earned Rs. 1890 crores (depending on the source, automobile in Albania, where private cars are seen as symbols of the "selfishness
estimates differ!) during 1988, representing more than a third of the deficit in
of capitalism:' In addition, no foreigner is allowed to travel alone in the
the current account balance of payments. The focus of national planning ti II
and it is next to impossible to arrange for accommodations with
an infrastructure (or industridl development
base. The first objective has been reasorlablv visit the country. All he or she has to
have trained their guns on other economic sectors, in Albanian trips in the small French
an I mportant one. some to cover room-and-board and
of the National Commission on Tourism submitteo last year is must one be a member of some militant
current tourism policy. Apart from official members, every other
to the Tirane regime.
member of the commission represents the growing luxury hotel lobbies. It is
The truth is that Albania is slowly and timidly beginning to open up to the
hardly surprising therefore thelt the thrust is on the high-growth, high-profile, rest of the world. In 1988, the country received over 12,000 Western tourists.
high-profit, five-star mass tourism market. A Tourism Finance Corporation has None, however, from Europe. "We dOl)'! expect dllything from thCN:'
been established with an outlay of Rs. 1000 crares, its funds earmarked for loans people," said government officials we occasiorldllv met, "Ileithcr nor
to private sector hotel industry. Tax exemptions, subsidised water and electricity,
undcrstJnding of our problems." Despite the recent deterioration of relatiolls
assistance with land acquisition, soft loans from a variety of financial and
as a result of problems involving tho Albanian millority ill
government agencies, and so on, have all been announced in the government's
Kosovo, a small of AlbaniCln touri:,ts was recently allowed to visit soutlwrtl
search for the pot of gold at the end of the tourism rdinbow. YUgOSldvl,l to' time in ,ewrdl yt'ar,>.
From the cultural tourism of the past, which largely consisted of ci(Jhkno;nn Whoever travel" by bus in Albania, as most tourists
. shifts to recreational '-,('C' that thi<; "mall,W,OOO-square kilometer
beaches, daredevil whit(Lvvater the COdst, in the fields on the outskirh
on the Himalavan slopes. Even some gates, Ollf' Cdn 5('(' thOUC,clncb of ['))('Il,lCing
in the rest of the
Such plane; no evidence of hindsight or longsight, instead only of
looking through tinted with greenbacks. Tourism offici,lls equivocate'
INSIDE
with pldtitudinollsly voiced ecological concerns, offering little proof that their
Hope for Pattaya 4
includ<:' strategies for environmental conservation. It is heartening,
to l10te the increasing number of groups raising regarding Post Card Cremation 8:
the dir('(tion of our tourism development. Ti me it to cOllle together and ,let
Tourism Concern 11

Network, News Roundup 12
Paul Gonsalves