Tourism Watch - South India
About Us
Frequently Asked Questions
- What do you mean by human rights?
- How are case studies documented?
- What are "verified" and "unverified" reports?
- Can I report an issue?
- Can I report a solution, or a positive travel experience in Southern India?
- What can I do to help?
- Why should I report an issue?
- What do you do with the data collected?
- What is a Civil Society Organisation?
Tourism Watch – South India aims to map and to report human rights abuses linked to tourism activity in Southern India.
The website has been developed by Tourism Concern and launched in March 2012 by Tourism Concern, with funds from the U.K. Department for International Development (DfID), as part of Tourism Concern' Empowering Coastal Communities campaign.
20 original case studies were identified and reported by the staff and volunteers of Kabani, The Other Direction. Further reports will be submitted by Civil Society Organisations in India, activists, members of the media, or simply tourists who have witnessed abuses in the destinations they've visited.
Tourism Watch – South India is part of the India Tourism Watch network. Case studies available on the interactive map also appear on the India Tourism Watch website, feeding data for the southern part of the country.
Some FAQs are answered below. For further information about the project or to share your thoughts, please Contact Us.
Tourism Watch – South India uses the Ushaidi software. If you would like to develop a similar website and map, please contact the team at LikeMindedMedia.
About Tourism Concern
Tourism Concern is the only organisation in Europe actively campaigning on tourism and human rights issues. An independent, non-industry based UK charity, Tourism Concern counts members and supporters around the world. It works with partners in over 20 destination countries to ensure that tourism always benefits local people.
Tourism Concern's Empowering Coastal Communities campaign seeks to strengthen civil society organisations in Southern India and to enable them to better advocate for the rights of local groups and communities. The project, in partnership with NGO Kabani, includes the creation of training materials and training workshops for these organisations, the making of a documentary to raise awareness on the issues faced in this part of the world, and the implementation of an interactive map to report and document human rights abuses.
About Kabani, The Other Direction
Kabani is a non-profit initiative of a group of people who love their land and want others to love it too. The prime objectives of the organisation are sustainable socio-economic development of local communities, as well as conservation of the natural resources that provide the basic community livelihood. Activities include research, advocacy and campaigning, networking, training, and developing community-based tourism initiatives.
Kabani operates mainly in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, but its influence reaches in other parts of India. The organisation is instrumental in the Empowering Coastal Community campaign, working on the ground with local CSOs.
About India Tourism Watch
India Tourism Watch is a network of civil society organizations, committed individuals and local communities. The network facilitates responses to threats caused by unsustainable and undemocratic tourism practices in India. The aim is to protect people's livelihoods, human rights, traditions and environment.
The first activity of the network is to document and report campaigns, movements, policies and the impact of tourism in India. This will facilitate more actions against irresponsible tourism practices in the country and will lead to more transparency and accountability from developers and the official institutions.
