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Evaluation
system to assess hotels on tourism norms
Sankar Radhakrishnan
| Blue Yonder plans networking scheme |
Every hotel that joins this scheme will have to declare
its responsible tourism policies on its Web site and in
promotional material.
Thiruvananthapuram , Sept 11
The Blue Yonder, a Bangalore-based travel company, is all set
to launch an evaluation system to identify and promote hotels
that follow the principles of responsible tourism.
Called The Blue Yonder Associates, this venture is being
launched in response to the growing interest in responsible
tourism, said Mr Gopinath Parayil, CEO.
Responsible tourism is about adopting strategies that
maximise the positive effects of tourism and minimise the
negative economic, social and environmental impacts of tourism,
he said.
Many travellers, particularly those from abroad, express a
desire to stay in hotels that follow responsible tourism
practices, he added. The Blue Yonder Associates is an attempt to
meet this demand by creating an online catalogue of hotels that
practise responsible tourism. Stressing that the venture is not
a classification system, he said that both guests and property
owners would be involved in evaluating how `responsible' each
hotel is.
PROCEDURE
Every hotel that joins this scheme will have to declare its
responsible tourism policies on its Web site and in promotional
material. The emphasis is on a measurable, visible and declared
responsible tourism policy, Mr Parayil said.
Once a hotel meets the membership criteria and pays an annual
registration fee, it will be featured on the Web sites of both
The Blue Yonder and The Blue Yonder Associates. Any hotel or
homestay that receives a booking through a reference from The
Blue Yonder is expected to pay the company a small commission,
he added.
Similarly, all promotional material developed by The Blue
Yonder will also feature hotels that are part of the venture.
Travellers who visit a hotel or homestay that is part of the
scheme will evaluate the property and provide feedback to both
the property owner and The Blue Yonder Associates.
If the feedback is negative, property owners will have to
take corrective action. If there is repeated negative feedback
about a property, it will be removed from the venture.
While the scheme will help travellers find hotels that
practise responsible tourism, it will also be especially useful
to small and medium-sized properties that cannot afford to spend
much on marketing.
Several Kerala-based hotel companies have expressed interest
in joining this scheme, which will be formally launched at the
Kerala Travel Mart later this month, he said.
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