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The SafeStay initiative includes a comprehensive manual, which will serve as a guide to ensure stringent health and safety measures across the three resorts located in Hatton, Weligama and Yala. “Industries must take an in-depth look at their processes” said Malik Fernando, Managing Director of Resplendent Ceylon, “hotels and other tourism accommodation have a huge responsibility, requiring specific attention to build confidence and protect guests and staff.” Resplendent Ceylon, part of the family owned Dilmah Tea Company, is the pioneer in luxury experiential travel in Sri Lanka and the sole Sri Lankan members of Relais & Chateaux, the global fellowship of individually owned & operated luxury hotels and restaurants. Tea Trails, Cape Weligama & Wild Coast Tented Lodge, form an enchanting circuit from tea fields to clifftop beach & safari lodge. Despite their resorts being small and isolated, spread out over large areas with private villa & bungalow experiences, Resplendent Ceylon is one of the few luxury boutique properties to create a guide of this nature and the company believes that such a manual is essential to build confidence as tourism resumes. “Our mission now includes helping others in the industry as responsible citizens in the fight against the pandemic.” said Maheesha Ratnayake, Chief Operating Officer, “Our expertise in paying attention to detail is now more critical than ever.” Resplendent Ceylon will make its SafeStay Health & Safety protocol available to all hotels and tourism accommodation locally and globally, as the company sees the need to work together at a time like this. The manual seeks to ensure the health and safety of guests, teams, their families, and communities. It covers logistics and transport, guest and staff contact areas, emergency response, safety equipment, chemicals, maintenance as well as communications. Contents will be updated with new recommendations as they develop. Mandatory training of staff on the standard is already taking place at all three resorts, as the country is now relaxing restrictions, and domestic travel is expected to commence shortly. Resplendent Ceylon looks forward to welcoming guests back to Sri Lanka, maintaining their renowned standard of excellence, as well as enhanced levels of safety and hygiene. The entire guide can be downloaded at the link below and more information can be accessed at www.resplendentceylon.com

From nature’s lap to your plate In order to better protect the earth, reduce carbon footprint and support sustainable and responsible tourism, The Residence Bintanhas set about unique ways to nurture and care for its surroundings as well as for social upliftment of the community. The Earth Basketismore than an initiative, itis a transformative experience that brings one closer to nature by indulging in sustainable development and earth-friendly agriculture. The vision behind this initiative goes beyond the boundaries of food and agriculture but also has naturally steeped into the area of animal feeding and compost making, using natural ingredients. The resort’s very own organic farm boasting over thirty different types of herbs and vegetables from simple basil leaves to freshly picked water spinach, corn or eggplants. It goes without saying that the food is 100% organic and is absolutely fresh, without any use of any chemical fertilizers. The ways that the resorts are looking to transform their surroundings naturally will gradually focus on socially uplifting the nearby villages by training the locals how to grow their fruits and vegetables and also create their own compost. Looking at a post Covid-19 world where the new norm linked with travel will derive from being more responsible, sustainable and conscious towards the environment, The Residence Bintan is looking forward to creating a safe and stronger future Few of the proud efforts have come into being and most of the food that is consumed at the resort is produced in-house, including local vegetables, fruits and fish, some of those which are not available in the nearby retail stores as well. Guests are encouraged to take a tour into the fabulously built area with aesthetics, for example; used bottles are placed for lights and a number of activities to indulge in, from planting a sapling on one’s name to feeding the animals and probably petting them too. With the success at Bintan, The Residence Maldives at Dhigurah too, has its own Earth Garden flourishing with fruit, herbs and vegetablestended by the caring hands of thegardeners; a step towards sustainability. Embark on a gastronomic adventure and savour the Earth's delights in the Earth Garden!

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 13 May 2020: Arabian Travel Market (ATM) has confirmed aviation industry veteran Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airlines, and CEO of budget airline Wizz Air, Jozsef Varadi, will speak at the inaugural ATM Virtual, which takes place from 1-3 June 2020. According to the latest analysis from the International Air Travel Association (IATA), the COVID-19 crisis will see global airline passenger revenues drop by US$314 billion in 2020, a 55% decrease compared to 2019. In a series of seminars and interviews led by respected aviation expert John Strickland, Director of JLS Consulting, ATM Virtual will look at the measures airlines are undertaking to counteract the direct impact the pandemic is having on their business. Sir Tim, who has dedicated 35 years to growing Emirates Airlines to become the largest long-haul airline in the world, and in the process has helped transform Dubai into a major global travel hub, will discuss his time spent at the company, and its response and the procedures implemented to deal with the current COVID-19 pandemic. The future strategy of Emirates, with a focus on making flying safer through technology implementation, will also be highlighted. Complementing the line-up of aviation heavyweights is CEO of Wizz Air, Joszef Varadi. Thanks to the implementation of new regulations by the airline, Varadi was able to ensure Wizz Air was able to continue operating during the pandemic. A major discussion point during the event will be the opening of Wizz Air’s forthcoming subsidiary in Abu Dhabi, in partnership with Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, which will further underscore its market position in the budget airline sector. Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said: “The airline industry continues to face deteriorating conditions with global airline passenger revenues predicted to fall by over 55% in 2020. To address these issues, we have brought together two of the most influential figures in the airline industry to discuss their procedures and strategies for the future.” In addition to the two speakers, a webinar by Cirium will break down the power of analytics in supporting business performance. Through decades of experience, Cirium has been instrumental in supporting aircraft manufacturers, airports, and airlines, amongst others, to shape the future of their businesses and support the travel industry. Sir Tim Clark will be interviewed on Monday 1 June, 11am to 12noon (8am to 9am BST), followed by the interview with Jozsef Varadi on Wednesday 3 June, 11am to 12noon (8am to 9am BST). The webinar by Cirium is scheduled for 3 June, 5:15pm to 6pm (2:15pm to 3pm BST). ATM Virtual takes place from Monday 1st to Wednesday 3rd June 2020. To register for the event please visit: atmvirtual.eventnetworking.com/register/

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 10 May 2020: Arabian Travel Market (ATM), recently hosted the first digital ATM Advisory Board meeting with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism and hospitality industry dominating the discussion. The Board will continue to provide guidance on industry themes, challenges, growth opportunities and future strategies in the Middle East travel and tourism sector, however, this will now be set against a backdrop of COVID-19 and how the industry can adapt to the ‘new norm’. Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said: “The Advisory Board is a cross section of industry leaders who provide an insight based on firsthand experience of the trends impacting the tourism industry. Their knowledge ensures ATM continues to act as a voice for the industry by providing support and direction during these difficult times. “The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the travel and tourism industry, like many others, to a halt, with very little indication of when the recovery will begin. It is therefore imperative we continue to listen and understand where we are as an industry, what the future could potentially look like and what we can do to work together to aid the recovery when it comes. ATM continues to play a crucial role in supporting the industry to achieve this.” The meeting addressed the impact COVID-19 will have on the international trade show arena through discussions focused on the key learnings from businesses during the pandemic and the resulting changes to the industry. It also provided an insight into the ‘new normal’ for the tourism industry, and the approach to dealing with new social distancing measures, reliance on domestic tourism and the impact of airline restrictions. Three phases of recovery were identified during the discussion. Phase one will focus on domestic travel and the local market, the second phase will be regional travel, and finally the international market when borders begin to open again. It was also agreed social distancing, health, hygiene, and safety will be prioritised over offerings, for those who want to travel. To that effect, hotels will be subject to full sanitisation and the implementation of complete social distancing in restaurants and at all public facilities. It is anticipated customers will also demand more information on the way hotels or restaurants support and re-educate staff on, amongst others, the way tables are serviced or the implementation of new house-keeping procedures. This is underscoring a need for an overhaul of the entire marketing, product development and service offerings to change, to give confidence to the consumer. Recovery was discussed with the overarching consensus indicating this will depend on how the situation evolves, with emphasis placed on listening, market research and insights while maintaining an element of flexibility so the industry can adapt as the situation develops. To support the industry, the organisers of ATM have announced the launch of ATM Virtual, a three-day event delivering positive business and networking opportunities to the region’s vast travel and tourism community. Taking place from 1-3 June 2020, the event will feature comprehensive webinars, live conference sessions, roundtables, speed networking events, one-to-one meetings, as well as facilitating new connections and offering a wide range of online business opportunities. Board attendees included: Al Mohannad Sharafuddin, Founder and Chairman, Arabian Falcon FZ LLC Chris Newman, Chief Operating Officer, Emaar Hospitality Group Gregory Fuller, Director, Brand Activation, Brand & Event Marketing Operations, Dubai Tourism Haitham Mattar, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia Jeff Strachan, Director, Dubai College of Tourism John D. Davis, Chief Executive Officer – MENA, Colliers International John Northen, Executive Director – Hotels Division, NEOM Mark Willis, Chief Executive Officer – Middle East & Africa, Accor Hotels Mohamed Awadalla, Chief Executive Officer, TIME Hotels Mona Faraj, Founder & Managing Director, Insight-Out Consultancy Mellissa R Pitt- Chalmers, Vice President Global Sales, Middle East & Africa, Marriott International, Inc Pierric Duthoit, Sector Lead Branding – Middle East & North Africa, Google Raki Phillips, Chief Executive Officer, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority Registrations for the ATM Virtual are open. To register as a visitor, please click here. For media registrations, please click here.

New Delhi, May 6, 2020 – With the coronavirus having irrevocably changed the nature of work and the state of mind of India Inc. employees, FYI, a health-tech community product, undertook a first of its kind survey conducted by MindMap Advance Research. As India Inc. prepares for offices to open post the lockdown, the survey assesses the anxiety level of employees and records a strong desire to do what’s right by their co-workers by complying to new health monitoring compliances, along with a high degree of awareness of changes in routine that await them. The survey strongly suggests that employees expect their employers to take responsibility to ensure a healthy and safe environment for them. An overwhelming 93% of employees are anxious to return to office, reveal the survey findings announced today. They fear on account of their health being compromised. The new normal of a post pandemic world has raised the expectations employees have of their employer towards their health. All employee polled, an overwhelming 99% said that they would like to see a system of Corporate Health Responsibility (CHR) made mandatory for employers, just like there is in force a system of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Nearly 85% expect their employers to sanitize the office space, implement and enforce safety guidelines and advisories and seek out new and innovative ways to protect their health while they are in the office. These expectations are balanced by a recognition among employees that it would require them to participate in efforts that employers take to make their health a priority. 82% said that they would agree to participate in measures that require them to be monitored, while 18% said that they would comply if the privacy of their data was assured. A high sense of solidarity and doing the right thing by their co-workers emerges strongly among employees, with 96% confirming that they would embrace and comply with health monitoring initiatives, despite the inconvenience. Employees expect the new normal to bring changes and are cognizant of what these could be. 81% said that employees would resume work only in batches, while 73% expect employers to enforce work from home as an ongoing process. A post pandemic world offers employers an opportunity to win the hearts of their employees and customers by deploying stronger solutions for the overall wellbeing of their workforce, said a majority of the respondents. While 81% of employees strongly feel this will be the case, 16% said that this has always been an expectation, regardless of recent events. Covid-19 has left all of India Inc.’s professionals anxious on several accounts. While a majority, 59% are concerned about their health, 25% said they are anxious about their financial situation, while 16% fear that the crisis will be a prolonged one and this uncertainty lends to high anxiety. “It may be an understatement to say that the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the way we live and work. This event has very quickly served as a tipping point to unprecedented change in the mind-set and attitudes of people, to both life and work. Our survey informs India Inc. of the new priorities they would need to juggle when it comes to the health and safety of their employees. India Inc. employees are clearly stressed on account of their health and that needs to be managed on priority. Evidence supports the fact that happier and secure employees are more productive and perform their jobs better while those under stress, perform worse”, said Yeishan Goel, Cofounder, FYI. [Corporate Health Responsibility (CHR) emerges as a mandatory ask from employers, akin to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Key findings: - 99% employees want employers to be held accountable for CHR, akin to CSR - 85% expect their office spaces to be sanitized before they return - 83% employees want employers to seek innovative solutions to monitor and safeguard their health - 96% employees will comply with health initiatives of employers regardless of the inconvenience] Methodology FYI undertook this survey in the last week of April 2020. The survey was conducted by MindMap Advance Research with 560 India Inc. employees across small, medium and large enterprises in major metro cities of Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Of these employees, 85% were male and 15% were female.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 6 May 2020: Arabian Travel Market (ATM) has officially announced the launch of ATM Virtual, a three-day event that will take place from 1-3 June 2020. The event, which underscores ATM’s commitment to delivering positive business and networking opportunities to the region’s vast travel and tourism community, will focus on emerging trends, opportunities, and the challenges which are directly impacting the tourism industry amid the COVID-19 global health pandemic. Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said: “Our debut virtual event provides us with the opportunity to work closely with the ATM community and ensure we can support the travel and tourism industry in rebounding as quickly and efficiently as possible. “We will address the impact the global health pandemic has had on the travel and tourism industry and discuss a road map to recovery, identifying the trends shaping the future of the industry and the ‘new normal’ that lies ahead.” ATM Virtual, which will take place over three days, will feature comprehensive webinars, live conference sessions, roundtables, speed networking events, one-to-one meetings, as well as facilitating new connections and offering a wide range of online business opportunities. With up to four live high-level sessions each day, industry experts will address a range of topics including tourism strategies for the future, the hotel landscape in a post-COVID-19 world, and the resilience of the travel industry, as well as exploring emerging travel technology and sustainability trends, amongst other key topics. Sessions on the first day of the virtual event include, amongst others, Communicating and Building Confidence Now and The Hotel landscape in a post-COVID-19 world. Day two will include the Virtual ATM China Forum and Networking sessions as well as Bouncing Back: Tourism Strategies for the Future, and Catapulting Resilience Through Technology and Analytics. On day three, the event will conclude with the International Travel Investment Conference. The packed agenda will also feature interviews with high-calibre aviation keynote speakers providing a detailed update on the aviation industry. It will also feature a session run by Arival, focused on the rise of online travel agencies (OTAs), the re-opening of operations, and what this means for tour and attraction operators across the Middle East. One-to-one pre-scheduled 30-minute meetings between editors, exhibitors, and buyers will also take place, while live video sessions will include Q&As and polls which will be run alongside the presentations to enable audience interaction. A series of independently moderated, pre-recorded on-demand roundtables have been designed to discuss emerging hot topics such as domestic travel, luxury travel trends, corporate travel, and tourism recovery plans. Also, key travel editors and leading travel and tourism experts will be writing blogs on topical subjects spanning not just regional but international industry verticals. While a host of hour-long speed networking sessions, between key buyers and exhibitors, will culminate in over 1,400 5-minute meetings that can then be extended into more in-depth meetings where a business need is identified. “For exhibitors from this region, the dedicated networking event will also have one Middle East-focused session per day, as well as sessions for buyers, focused on purchasing European and Asian products, plus a session specifically targeting Chinese buyers,” added Curtis. In addition to ATM Virtual, the WTM Portfolio has launched a new online portal, the WTM Global Hub, which went live on 23 April 2020. The portal, which was set up to connect and support travel industry professionals around the world, will offer the latest news and advisory to help exhibitors, buyers and others in the travel industry face up to the challenges of the global coronavirus pandemic. The platform, which will provide content in English, Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese, will provide a wide range of webinars, podcasts, videos, news and blogs from key industry figures, providing travel professionals with a wealth of information, advice, and support to cope with the current crisis and plan for the future. ATM Virtual takes place from Monday 1st to Wednesday 3rd June 2020. To register for the event please visit: atmvirtual.eventnetworking.com/register/

COVID-19 has had a major impact on all human life and not just in India but globally. Tourism as a sector is naturally hugely impacted with no movement happening either domestically or from across the border. But owing to technology, it is possible to visit places and destinations virtually and plan our travels for a later date. In these unprecedented times, technology is coming handy to maintain human contact and also keep faith that times will be good to be able to travel again soon. Keeping this in view, the Ministry of Tourism has launched its "DekhoApnaDesh" webinar series from today to provide information on the many destinations and the sheer depth and expanse of the culture and heritage of our Incredible India. The first webinar, which was part of a series that shall unfold, touched upon the long history of Delhi as it has unfolded as 8 cities, each one unique in its character and leaving behind traces which makes Delhi the magnificent city that it is today. The webinar was titled " City of Cities- Delhi's Personal Diary'. The Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture (I/C) Shri Prahlad Singh Patel said that the series of  webinars shall be an on-going feature and the Ministry would work towards showcasing the diverse and remarkable history and culture of India including its monuments, cuisine, arts, dance forms. natural landscapes, festivals and many other aspects of the  rich Indian civilization. The core of the session based itself on tourism awareness and social history. Laced with interesting anecdotes the session which was conducted by the India city walks for Ministry of Tourism, had enthusiastic participation with 5546 persons registering and many interesting questions were raised which depict the interest of the participants. The webinar shall be available in public domain soon. It will be availableon the Ministry’s social media handles- IncredibleIndia on Instagram and Facebook. The next webinar is on the 16th of April from 11 am to 12 noon and shall take visitors to the amazing City of Kolkata. [Source: 14 APR 2020 4:20PM by PIB Delhi]

The Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India has launched portal www.strandedinindia.com on 31st March 2020, with a view to identify, assist and facilitate foreign tourists who are stranded in various parts of India due to the lockdown situation necessitated by the COVID19 global pandemic. Such tourists would need to log on to the portal, provide some basic contact information and narrate the nature of issues being faced by them, if any. In the first 5 days of its operation, 769 foreign tourists from all over the country registered on the portal. Every State Government and Union Territory Administration has identified a Nodal Officer for assisting such foreign tourists. The 5 Regional Offices of the Ministry of Tourism are constantly coordinating with the Nodal Officers regarding the Support Requests logged on the portal, for facilitating ground support to the foreigners, if so required. The Tourism Ministry Regional Offices are also coordinating with the Bureau of Immigration and FRROs regarding Visa issues being faced by stranded foreigners. Requests for movement within the country/ state and for transfer to home country of such tourists are also being coordinated with the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs and with the respective Embassy/ High Commission/ Consulate. The utility and efficacy of the portal has led to stranded foreign tourists being contacted over e-mails, telephones and also in person depending on the nature of support required by them. They have been connected with the relevant foreign office of their home country in India and provided various information updates on flights out of India to their home countries. Wherever required, they have been provided medical assistance, food and accommodation. A lady, who is an American citizen, was stranded in Supaul district of Bihar amidst the COVID19 lockdown, while her son was undergoing a surgery at Delhi. The portal facilitated the required inter-ministerial, inter-departmental and State-Centre coordination and secured her a special transit-permit to travel to Delhi. She has safely reached her destination and expressed her gratitude for the efforts put in by all the concerned agencies. Two Costa Rican citizens, who had come to Chennai for a surgery (medical tourism), were stranded at Chennai after the surgery. Close coordination with the State Government, the Costa Rican Embassy and the hotel in which the tourists were staying helped in soothing the frayed and panicked nerves of the tourists. They are now safe and well. An Australian tourist with his family was stranded in Ahmedabad. The tourist has epilepsy and ran out of medication prescribed by Australian doctors due to the lockdown. The portal led to the tourist being reached through the office of the District Collector. He was provided with sufficient medication and was also offered food and local transportation. Now, they are comfortable and safe. The above are just a few of the many occasions in which the portal helped many foreigners in getting critical assistance at a crucial time. In the coming days, the portal will continue to serve its purpose and the Government are committed to the cause of ensuring the comfort and well being of our foreign guests during their stay in India. That is the spirit of “Atithi Devo Bhava”, the mantra that drives Incredible India! [Source: 06 APR 2020 11:59AM by PIB Delhi]

Food and nutrition is a subject of specialization now; so many new theories and studies are published every day about what to eat, how to eat and what not to eat. But when looking back at the thousands of years-old traditional Indian food habits and dietary regulations, one cannot help but be awestruck by the level of knowledge Indians in those times had about food and dietary science. One may note that every single spice used in our food, including those in the popular digestive, muksuddhi, has science and reason behind it to be included in the complete dietary plan followed by Indians, which essentially changes with season, geography, age and in compliance with nature (people never were against the nature). Today it is possible to search on the internet and find out the tremendous benefit of the spices like turmeric, coriander, red chilli, green chilli, cumin, clove, cardamom, cinnamon, and many more used daily in Indian dishes. The food we eat, how we eat, what ingredients it contains and how it is prepared is essential for the wholesome development (both mental and physical) and wellbeing of a person. Recently researchers have found how chemicals secreted from different food items help in combating stress, anxiety, depression etc. Depending on the needs of the region, this has been done in the Indian kitchens since the olden days. For example, a daily serving of bitter gourd and green vegetables, fish and small pieces of lemon in West Bengal or curd and buttermilk in Punjab, seems very ordinary to locals but works wonders in increasing one’s immunity. An extra dose of red chilli powder in the Rajasthani diet is said to help combat the extreme temperature there. Growing up in Bhopal, I have seen people dealing with the heat during summer, especially the life threatening, ‘nau tapa’ heat waves in May by including raw onion, plain curd and aam panna (a traditional cool drink prepared from roasted raw mangoes, rock salt, mint and spices) in their daily diet and then braving out in the sun for work.Applying a paste made out of haldi (turmeric), Neem leaves and mustard oil on the body before bathing, and then wearing yellow clothes and eating yellow food on the occasion of Saraswati Puja is not only joyous but there is a whole lot of science hidden behind it. Turmeric and Neem leaves are antibacterial herbs. The yellow colour signifies the brilliance of nature and the vibrancy of life. The same festival is celebrated as Basant Panchami (celebrating the arrival of spring) in some parts of India. During this time the yellow rays of the sun falling on earth indicates prosperity.The custom of eating preparations made out if til (sesame seeds) and gud (jaggery) is famous all over India, especially during winters. Sesame seeds and jaggery help to keep the body warm and increase immunity at the same time. The oil present in the sesame seeds helps generate heat and keeps the body temperature from dropping.  Vitamin C and iron present in jaggery increases immunity and is also helpful for respiratory disorders and throat problems.Going down south to Andhra Pradesh, any meal whether it’s the daily regular meal at home or the meal at a grand wedding, it compulsorily ends with curd rice. Curd is a natural pro-biotic, and when used with rice it’s good for heart, builds immunity and reduces weight. The famous rasam (a traditional South Indian dish) is a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals and facilitates digestion. Tamarind is rich in antioxidants and helps in reducing weight.Even today I have a clear and vivid memory of my grandmother boiling, deseeding, adding rock salt and then sun drying amla (gooseberry) so that it could be stored and consumed year long till the next season. Having this homemade amla candy every day after lunch and dinner was made into a habit; a fantastic way to receive vitamin c and iron and increasing immunity in the body. Can any vitamin tablet replace the benefit received naturally? We know the answer is NO. Let me share one more personal experience. I am talking of the time when I was in my B.Sc 1st year final exams (1994).  I was going to college, driving a borrowed scooter, early in the morning at 6.30 am when I met with an accident. My scooter crashed with another scooter and I fell down along with it. But I got up, picked up my scooter, gave a ride to a friend of mine on the way who was waiting for me, reached college in time, appeared in the exam and came home after dropping off my friend. I didn’t tell anything to mother about the accident, otherwise she would have made me return the scooter, and finding public transport that early in the morning would require getting up twice as early, which wasn’t possible when every extra minute before exams matter. As a result I couldn’t go to a doctor nor get a painkiller, but I was in a lot of pain nonetheless. Fortunately, turmeric powder from the kitchen mixed with milk, taken twice a day saved me. Our tradition also has a complete step by step plan for introducing adult food to a baby. Special laddoos (made from dry fruits, spices and many other specific items) are made and given to women who have recently given birth for her recovery and healing; even her overall diet has some specifications because she is breast feeding. These specifications may change with geography in India according to climatic conditions and availability of items in that place but people know what to eat in the specific situations. Whichever part of India one travels to, the traditional food habits passed down from generations to generations is scientific, well rehearsed, and perfect for one’s overall wellbeing. Just because the western countries are more urbanised and industrialised doesn’t mean that everything is good about them – yes, we do need to learn discipline, cleanliness, dignity of labour, importance of hard work, punctuality etc. from them, but definitely not at the cost of forgetting our own strength. We should be open to improving and beginning, but we also need to be proud of our own culture and traditions and instil them in our children, who are the future of our country. For their sake, it is time we revisit, revive and share our old traditional food habits. About the Author:Nivedita Mukherjee After completing her Master’s Degree from Bhopal, Nivedita has had the opportunity of staying in cities like Jaipur, Hydrabad, Pune and Mumbai before finally coming to Kolkata. In the past she has worked in various organisations including the Times of India and a premier school in Kolkata and feels that life is the biggest teacher. She is currently a homemaker enjoying the growing up years of her three kids.

Pursuant to the Budget Announcements of year 2018-19 and year 2019-20 Ministry of Tourism has identified 17 sites in 12 clusters in the country for development as Iconic Tourist Sites namely Taj Mahal & Fatehpur Sikri (Uttar Pradesh), Ajanta & Ellora (Maharashtra), Humayun’s Tomb, Red Fort & Qutub Minar (Delhi), Colva (Goa), Amer Fort (Rajasthan), Somnath & Dholavira (Gujarat),  Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh), Hampi (Karnataka),  Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu), Kaziranga (Assam), Kumarakom (Kerala) and Mahabodhi Temple (Bihar). The Ministry shall be developing the above sites in an integrated manner with focus on issues concerning connectivity to the destination, better facilities/experience for the tourists at the site, skill development, involvement of local community, promotion & branding and by bringing private investment. Availability of land free from all incumberances for the proposed developments under the scheme is the responsibility of the respective State Governments/UT administrations. This information was given by the Minister of State (I/c) of Culture and Tourism, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today. [Source: 16 MAR 2020 5:55PM by PIB Delhi]

The one day conference on sustainable of tourism was primarily on the various aspects of sustainability directly or indirectly linked with tourism industry. Conference started on  high note with top officials from the government sector  with inaugural lamp lighting followed by speakers’ presentation. Each speaker was allotted 15 minute time and question &answers after their presentation. Registration for the conference was open to student, academic professor/ teacher, Industry participants , visitors  Research Scholars.  Prior registration was more than on spot registration. Attendees: i. Students and professors from MBA colleges across the country. ii. Students and professors from Hotel Management colleges iii. Deputy Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. iv. State Tourism boards in  India. v. VP Technical Head of 5 star Hotels. vi. Student and professor of state university. vii. Student and professor of private University. viii. Private company engaged with tour business. Student Involvement: To encourage student participation in the conference, students were supported to attend through travel grants from their respective institutes, complementary attendance certificate and subsidized registration costs. Students and emerging scholars accounted for approximately 30% of the total participants. Conference Speakers’ Presentation As reported in Touriosity Travelmag, August 2019 : Opening session: Inaugural Lamp Lighting was done  by Special Guest: Sri J. P. Shaw, Former RD (East), Indiatourism and Sri R. K Suman as Chief Guest, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. Tourism, Government of India. A short introduction on the conference, the first International conference on sustainable Tourism of Eastern India was organised by Touriosity on 23rd August 2019 at the venue of IIHM Global Campus, Kolkata. It was a day of extensive brainstorming, research, presentation fo paper, debate and discussion amongst thought leaders from various fields who came together under one roof to discuss sustainable tourism.

Touriosity Travelmag is organizing the 1st International Conference on Sustainable Tourism on 23rd August 2019 at Kolkata with the objective of examining critical sustainability issues for the Tourism Sector and to explore what they mean for business in tourism. The objective is also to explore the pressing issues, bringing together the country’s opinion leaders for a day of debate and high-level discussions. Venue : IIHM Global Campus in Saltlake, Kolkata. A bunch of highly renowned speakers  are from  Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India, Calcutta University, St Xaviers College, The Bhawanipur Education Society College, University of Burdwan and few notable international personalities in the field of Tourism are participating from London, Germany, Netherlands, Israel and Macedonia etc. ITC Limited and WBHIDCO  are also participating as ITC has won LEED Platinum award for its brand ITC Sonar and this is indicative of the fact that ITC is very serious about sustainability in its business all along. TRACKS for the conference are: A.   Sectoral analysis of traditional tourism practices vis-a-vis sustainable tourism principles. B.  Economic efficiency of eco-tourism business with sustainability practices through traditional outdoor activities like hiking, canoeing, hunting,     fishing, as well as traditional touring experiences like scenic drives, shopping for local goods, and visiting local natural and cultural landmarks C.  Global standard and best practices of sustainable tourism: Assessing the effectiveness and determination the barriers of social change for   sustainability D.   Understand park planning principles and procedures and the major phases of facility design Email your registration details  event@touriositytravel.com

CSR Audit vs Corporate Responsibility Index Government of India is in the process of overhauling the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) framework. To ensure better compliance of CSR provisions, it is planning to move to an audit regime soon. While traditionally the role of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has been that of a Facilitator and a Regulator, with the coming of the CSR mandate, it has now become a Developer as well, and through CSR investments it is taking part in socio-economic development of the country. And in doing so, it now wants to move from the softer to the stricter regime. It may be noted that for CSR violations during the year 2014-15 only, 254 companies are facing prosecutions as of now. This shows the commencement of a stricter regime. The idea is to add quality dimension to CSR investment of companies to ensure that there is actually a social impact of projects undertaken. In addition to proposed CSR Audit, as per recent reports, the government plans to have a web portal which will act like an exchange platform for companies making investment, NGOs looking for investment and project implementation agencies to interact with each other. Changes in the annual filing to allow reporting of more details about CSR projects are also in the pipeline. The idea is to make it easier to identify non-compliant companies. Furthermore, there are also discussions about introducing a public rating-based evaluation of CSR performance of companies, which seems to be somewhat in the line of Corporate Responsibility Index. In this article I have discussed both CSR Audit and Corporate Responsibility Index in some detail. What is CSR Audit? Corporate social audit is an assessment of a company's performance on its corporate social responsibility objectives. In a company’s CSR activities bucket if there are measurable goals, the CSR Audit helps it measure the extent to which the goals were successfully achieved and how far the company succeeded in meeting the expectations of its stakeholders w.r.t. its social and environmental responsibilities. It helps measure the company’s actual social performance against the social objectives it had set for itself, and how the management’s decision making, mission statement and business conduct are aligned with social responsibilities. CSR audit also helps in discovering the interests and objectives of a company’s employees and stakeholders. In other words CSR Audit measures the social return on CSR investment. Companies that give importance to their social responsibility would like to know how well they have performed. In such cases CSR Audit can help it measure its actual social performance against the social objectives it had set for itself. Research has shown that integrating CSR in business strategy contributes to the following: Positive brand awareness Increased employee satisfaction Reduced operating costs Improved community relations Corporate accountability Enhanced investor reliance While day to day monitoring of CSR activities may be difficult for organisations, evaluation of its social responsibilities vis-à-vis activities undertaken are also important. This is due to many reasons. First, the management wants to assure itself that activities as planned are being rightfully taken up and effectively implemented. Second, because governmental priorities and social needs change, which calls for attention of corporate citizens. Third, social responsibilities and activities are open to intense public scrutiny. Fourth, it involves money and the investment in social responsibility should not go wrong. Hence it becomes important to do periodic evaluation to know whether the company is hitting the mark, or falling short of the expectations of stakeholders and its own objectives. Such periodic evaluation would be termed as CSR Audit. It is not mandatory in India, but many companies do voluntarily go for such evaluation and impact assessment of its social initiatives. How and where to start? As long as CSR Audit is not mandated, a company may choose to have the auditing process conducted internally by the employees. To have an independent opinion, a company may also go for audit by an outside consultant who has relevant expertise. This will also add value and bring credibility to the evaluation. Stakeholders and the public in general will also have more reliance on an outsider’s audit and opinion. CSR Audit stages The following would be the suggested steps for CSR Audit: Definition of the depth and scope of the audit assignment based on the goal of audit Launching the assignment to employee(s) or an external agency Interviews of all the CSR stakeholders to understand the impact Analysis of all the CSR activities and assessment of social performance Comparison with benchmarks laid by leaders in the industry as also companies in other industries that are complying with similar social responsibilities If some projects have failed, the reason therefor Where projects have been successfully executed, how they could be made better Delivery of the Audit Report Does Your Company ‘Walk-the-Talk?’ This would mean evaluating whether the company strictly follows the CSR guidelines and objectives laid by it (as also the legal requirements in the Indian context). CSR Stakeholders Government – Adherence to legislations, Information Disclosure, & Environment Protection Employees – Safety, Health & Environment Customers – Quality control & Customer satisfaction Shareholders – Proactive communication & Information disclosure Suppliers – market information exchange (valued business partners) CSR Audit framework To demonstrate good corporate citizenship, companies in India can voluntarily go for CSR Audit and in the absence of any specific Audit guidelines or auditing standards, companies may report in accordance with a number of globally accepted CSR reporting standards that include: AccountAbility’s AA100 standard Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Reporting Guidelines Verite’s Monitoring Guidelines Social Accountability International’s SA8000 standard Green Globe Certification / Standard The ISO 14000 environmental management standard The FTSE Group – FTSE4GOOD Index The United Nations Global Compact – Communication on Progress (COP) Report The Audit Report On completion of the CSR audit, a company may choose to keep the report for use of the management only, or make it public. Some companies come up with a periodic CSR Report and they may choose to publish the audit report in it. The same may also be made available on the website for the knowledge of all the stakeholders in general. For listed companies this report is all the more important to make public. For some companies the audit report may be just a document helpful in monitoring and evaluating the company’s social performance, for others it may be a means of judging the external environment to find out as to how vulnerable the company is. For yet others the audit report is helpful in gaining an edge over competitors. Some companies may decide to exclusively use the Audit report for internal training purposes only towards the end of bettering its future social performances. Based on a company’s audit findings, the management may brainstorm on how to do the CSR projects better in order to have greater impact and how to select projects in order to strategically set the company apart. It may focus on areas that need improvement and those that may be carried on the way they have been done. The audit report may also focus on the community issues that are likely to affect the company’s business and what role the company would like to play in resolving them. The management may also like to rework the timeline for project implementation. Benefits of CSR Audit There are many benefits of getting a CSR Audit done, even if not required by law. Not only does CSR Audit provide information to analyse the performance of the company’s social projects it also helps to single out the areas that need improvement to achieve the desired organizational goals. The cost incurred in getting the audit done may thus be rightfully treated as business expenditure. The following are some of the key benefits a company may derive from the audit: Helps lower the chances of failure of CSR projects Helps plan the proper implementation of the programme Determines the long term impact of social projects Assesses the impact of the organization on the society Provides important data to communicate to the stakeholders for positive impact Enhances the efficiency of operations by lowering loopholes, bureaucracy and corruption Helps to ensure optimum utilisation of available resources including manpower Brings awareness among management and employees for using sustainable approach in their work Helps reduce the operation costs in the long term Serves as a way of communicating with various stakeholders Helps identify unproductive projects vis-à-vis the productive ones Ensures that CSR projects are not duplicated CSR Audit in India As of now the CSR Audit is not mandatory in India. But discussions are going on in this line for introducing CSR Audit. Audit of welfare projects have already been initiated with teams headed by eminent persons. A Government level CSR Committee is expected to be formed in this regard and it is expected to have eminent person, technology experts and NGO representatives on board. The Committee will ensure compliance of CSR law. Since discussions are at the very initial stage, it is not clear as to what type of audit will be proposed for CSR. It may be in the form of an audit by third party agencies (like Statutory Audit, Secretarial Audit and Cost Audit) or a Social Audit in the form of projects rating by the society. Further, it is yet to be seen whether the audit will be in the form of a compliance audit like the examples stated earlier, or will it be audit of impact assessment of projects only. Ideally, it should be a combination of both. What is Corporate Responsibility Index? It is a strategic management tool that is aimed at enhancing the capacity of businesses to develop, measure and communicate best practice in the field of corporate social responsibility. This is done through benchmarking corporate social responsibility strategy and implementation process. The CR Index was created by more than eighty leading businesses in the UK and Business in the Community, which is a unique movement of 700 member companies committed to continually improving their positive impact on society. Launched in 2002, the CRI provides a standardized method and question set through which companies can report on their ethical and environmental performance, and the extent to which responsible business is integrated into their strategy. It does not cover the normal business operations of the company. At present the CRI is in the form of an online questionnaire, where the index covers four areas: corporate strategy, integration, management and impact (which covers six environmental and social impact areas) with questions on everything from diversity policies to carbon emissions reduction goals. Points are awarded to companies for individual questions from which they are given percentage scores for each area. Then the total is drawn to find the company’s overall percentage score. Thereafter the performance bands, viz. Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum or Platinum Big Tick, are awarded to the companies. Continued high scoring year after year would suggest that a company is maintaining commitment to a responsible business agenda. The Questionnaire is devised in such a manner that it would encourage more and more companies to participate. It is a big challenge to keep the questionnaire detailed enough and at the same time not making it boring. While the existing CRI is a questionnaire-based, the same may also be made social audit-based. Similar data about a company’s performance may be gathered from the public which can rate the projects of companies on the lines of hotel or film ratings online. The government of India is probably looking at introducing this kind of a rating at the moment as per the latest reports published. Benefits of Corporate Responsibility Index Whether incorporating the Corporate Responsibility Index in Annual Financial Statements would be beneficial for a company or not needs to be seen. But apparently, the following would be the benefits of CRI: Simple exercise resulting in evaluation of CSR projects The index is easy for stakeholders to understand and have an idea about the company’s performance Involvement of the public at large indicates zero bias Companies will tend to be more responsible if the grading is in the hands of the society Duplicity, delay and inefficiency of projects may be checked Chances of failure of CSR projects will be lowered Long term impact of social projects can be assessed The impact of the organization on the society can be evaluated Optimum utilisation of available resources including manpower will be ensured There will be awareness among management and employees for using sustainable approach in their work There will be reduction in the operation costs in the long term Conclusion For a country like India, mandatory CSR seems to be a step in the right direction. But the codification is definitely poor. We are in a Trial and Error phase with not much of specific guidelines to follow. The coming years will see a lot more stringency and clarity of provisions. If any monitoring mechanism like CSR Audit or Corporate Responsibility Index is introduced, CSR law compliance will also shoot up. Until then we can ‘Wait and Watch’.

The conference will be an ideal platform for high-level theoretical research and empirical studies with policy-relevant analysis in regard to tourism and allied industries. It is designed to be an influential and challenging intellectual confluence not only for the business world but also for the society at large. The conference is an open platform for collaborations with National and International public and private research institutions, governmental bodies, professionals, representatives of industrial groups active in the policy arena and various stakeholders in the travel and tourism industry. We are collaborating with a number of national and international organisations for this conference.For registration you are requested to visit  http://www.touriositytravel.com/conference/ for the tracks and other issues. For participation and /or submission of paper you are requested to email event@touriositytravel.com or call +91-9836511995 for further details. Media registration will be onsite and you can email event@touriositytravel.com or call +91-9836511995 for further details.

Tannistha Nandi is now the youngest novelist in India (at the age of 10). Shri Harshvardhan Neotia, Chairman of Ambuja Neotia Group, the Chief Guest for the book launch ceremony held on 5th December at the Oxford Bookstore, Kolkata, speaking about the novel beautifully remarked "It is gripping enough even for an adult like me. and I finished the book at one go" Here's link to the books on Amazon https://www.amazon.in/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=tannistha+nandi Link to review by The Statesman

Kolkata based EnVERT E-Vehicles unveils its first electric cycle which is going to disrupt the market primarily because of its price range. The cycle comes with 250 W DC motor and 24 Volt with absorbent glass mat battery. The looks cool with a mat finish look with the following technical specification :EnVERT Electric Cycle EM18 comes with  comes with two modes i.e. manual (pedal only) and throttle (accelerator). It is powered by AGM battery which gives up to 20 kms of ride in a single charge, with a max speed of 25 km/hr. Full Throttle Mode (No manual pedaling)Turn the E-Cycle (motor) on by turning the key. If the cycle moves in an average of   50% of the top speed level the battery gives maximum output. Manual Pedaling Mode It is just like convention cycle riding. Price of  the available e-cycles on the popular e-commerce websites starts from Rupees thirty thousand or so. Glarepost asked the CEO of EnVERT E-Vehicles Dr Paritosh Nandi about the price parity and the USP of their e-cycles and Dr Nandi said " all the popular e-commerce websites are selling the e-cycles majority of which are using  Lithium ion  batteries and that is why price remains in the higher side. In a year or two price of the lithium ion battery  is expected to come down  so is the e- cycles. For the last mile connectivity our range is moderately fine". He also added " Carry-in charging facility and detachable battery box is our USP"

The Secret of the Goldbug Castle is taking the town by storm. Written by Tannistha Nandi, a 10-year-old, the book explores stories of courage and bravery in a world of fantasy and ‘Fantomese’. Compared to the likes of Enid Blyton’s series and Harry Potter, the little author has matched her writing with her inspirations beautifully. With vivid descriptions and rapid pace, the book is a gripping tale and only the first in the series ‘The Summeres Diaries’. On 5th December, 2017, the book was launched at Oxford Bookstores, Kolkata in the auspicious presence of Chief Guest Harshavardhan Neotia, Chairman of the Ambuja Neotia group, and Shri Vishambhar Saran, Chairman of Visa group with many eminent people from media and publishing. With kind words of encouragement from these prominent personalities, not only was author Tannistha inspired to reach greater heights, but children all across the city were encouraged to explore their talents. Ms Rupanjana De, Company Secretary and Lawyer, as well as an avid writer ( and mother of Tannistha), was also a part of the panel discussion that took place that evening. Dr. Paritosh Nandi, the young prodigy’s father said that the idea behind encouraging the child to write was to ensure that  she is exposed to the world of literature from a young age and is not trapped in the world of gadgets.More children coming across and unveiling their talents is what is required in a country like ours, where children are burdened down only by their academic pressures. Exploring hobbies and talents is a must for not only the development of the child, but also for the development of the country.

Kolkata: 10-year-old Tannishtha Nandi has stirred the reader’s circle in Kolkata. By publishing her first ever book The Secret of the Goldbug Castle (The Summeres Diaries Book 1), she has created history by being the youngest author in India at the tender age of 10! A pre-launch video of the author talking about her book was released last Sunday where she spoke about her inspirations and aspirations. The book can be found on Amazon and Kindle. Her book will be formally released in the first week of December in the presence of prominent personalities including Harsh Neotia. Her book has received accolades from even the Hon’ble Governor Shri Keshari Nath Tripathi. Watch the pre-release video here: http://bit.ly/2zwPdqk Get your copy of the book here: http://amzn.to/2yqsXvd

Each forest of the world has its own charisma, something very unique to itself. And this is not with respect only to its physical characteristics, but in terms of the very soul of it. The sounds, smells, whisper and the air of each forest is different. So is true for its residents. Robert Louis Stevenson had aptly remarked that “It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air, that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.” The eternal relation between humankind and trees need no introduction. But unfortunately, the forest cover of the world is declining every day, thanks to technology advancements, urbanization, increased mining and agriculture. And if mankind continues to be fascinated by modern technology to the extent that surrendering the future generations’ wellbeing becomes immaterial, it is not difficult to imagine that forests will vanish some day. Environmentalists today are increasingly concerned about the Climate Change – the increase of Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Out of various reasons attributable to this deadly phenomenon, deforestation is one, and this, few of us know. In fact, a fifth of the greenhouses gases results from deforestation, more than that caused by automobile pollution all over the world. Doesn’t this sound really alarming? Many decades back, Mahatma Gandhi had said “What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.” Nobody could have possibly put this concern in a better phrase. Those who have spent childhood or at least a major period of life in the vicinity of forests can tell you that forests are not gloomy or fear provoking. Rather it is the city that looks naked – ugly because shades of green are absent. The Global Concern Since forests constitute an integral part of sustainable development, the role of forests is gaining importance in international conventions on biodiversity and climate change. Increased attention is also being paid to sustainable forest development in international trade of forest products. In some parts of the world there is increased preference amongst consumers for buying products obtained from sustainably managed forests and manufactured by environmentally acceptable processes. Conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests worldwide have now emerged as priority items on the international policy agenda, particularly in the context of the United Nations Conference in Rio, first held in June 1992, followed by Rio+10 at Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002 and Rio+20 again held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 2012. Policy-makers at the national and international level are concerned about reconciling the role of forests in meeting national socio-economic and environmental objectives as well as the global environmental and socio-economic interests of the community of nations. Failure of Five Year Plan targets in India As per India State of Forest Report 2001, 20.6% of the total land area in India was under forest cover and another 2.5% of land in the country was under tree cover. This amounted to a total of 23% of the total land area of the country out of which about 61.7% was categorized as dense forests. The Tenth Five Year Plan had proposed raising the forest and tree cover to 25% by 2007 and to 33% by 2012. This implied bringing additional area under forest and tree cover by afforestation and tree plantation. It called for joint efforts for maintenance and expansion. However, the target miserably failed. The India State of Forest Report 2011, revealed that forests and tree cover as in 2011 was only about 23.81% of the country’s geographical area. The main reasons attributable to this failure, as per the report, were prevalence of shifting cultivation practiced in the forests of North East India, illegal timber trade and smuggling and rapid urbanisation. Sustainable Forestry Management and its stakeholders Innumerable attempts at Sustainable Forestry Management around the world have failed because adequate attention was not paid to the various stakeholders involved and their particular interest. The local populace dwelling in the forests, local farmers, the private sector deriving benefit out of forests and the government departments, national and international policy makers and planners are the stakeholders in sustainable forestry management. Proper management calls for a cooperation in sharing the burdens and benefits. The stakeholders are those who have a stake in the exploitation and management of the forest resource. Each stakeholder is expected to have different but conflicting interest regarding the usage and management of forest resources and these differences may be vital. Exploitation or conservation initiatives imply that some stakeholder stand to lose while some stand to gain. It is the failure to identify this conflict in interest of the different stakeholders that has often led to local resistance to government policies and development initiatives. In effect, these fail to meet their desired objectives. However, despite the various conflicts at different levels, countries should be more proactive to promote sustainable development. As for instance, the local forest dwellers mostly rely on wood fuel for their cooking needs. Hence, for subsistence, they need to cut trees. The introduction of solar cookers among these dwellers would go a long way towards reducing deforestation. In addition to these usage of solar lighting among the forest communities, that do not have access to grid power, is expected to answer their inherent developmental needs. Man-made disasters For maintaining the ecological balance, it is very important to identify the associated evils which need to be uprooted or converted into sustainable practices in a phased manner. Government regulations are essential to this effect, but so are individual initiatives. As long as each individual is not aware of his / her own contribution to ecological instability and climate change, so to say ‘Damage Per Person’ (DPP), it is difficult to curb the evils and move towards sustainable development. Some of the man-made disasters contributing to damage to ecology are discussed hereunder. Suggestions to improve them and remove the harmful effects are also provided. Urbanisation Perhaps there cannot be a bigger evil than urban development stretching beyond limits and trespassing into the areas reserved for forests. The increase of population and improvement in the standard of living of people are both pushing the urban boundaries. With increase in urban cover, forest cover is diminishing. While development is essential for meeting human needs and for progress of humankind, sustainable development is essential for long term gain. To reap the benefits of sustainable development, therefore, there has to be a trade-off between development and forest conservation so that forest can contribute meaningfully to sustainable development in the country. Putting this trade-off between development and forest conservation and management in proper perspective will lead us to the emergence of stakeholder participation in ecologically sound development strategy, which should emphasize harmonization of economic, social and environment concern in the process of development. Forest Tourism The flora and fauna of the wilderness beckon us and we often seek refuge under the starry sky. While forests and wilderness in Africa are treasure troves of wildlife, India is also blessed with diverse geography and climate and consequently a varied range of flora and fauna. It offers a diverse platter of sights and wildlife experience for enthusiasts. While animals, birds and reptiles can be protected under the care of experts in zoos, there is no substitute for protecting them in their natural habitat. The 550 National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and Reserves in India are home to an incredible number of fauna varieties, some of which are endangered while some are to be found only in this country. These protected areas of India abound in more than 350 species of mammals, 2100 varieties of birds, 350 varieties of reptiles and countless species of insects. This goes to make India an ideal location for viewing wildlife as well. However there are pros and cons. Revenues generated through wildlife tourism can be effectively utilized for the betterment and protection of wildlife. But by mindless and careless tourism, we stand the chances of endangering the wildlife. Forests often suffer the negative impacts of tourism in the form of deforestation caused by fuel wood collection and land clearing by trekkers. Throwing of garbage is another evil and so is the enhanced pressure on endangered species and increased chances of forest fires. Excessive tourist activity may also result in degradation of the ecosystems of forests. Over-commercialised wildlife viewing programmes have been proved to bring about stress to the animals to the extent that they alter their natural behavior when tourists come too close. Safaris are invariably accompanied by noise created by over-excited tourists chasing wild animals with their cameras. This puts a lot of pressure on animal habits and degradation of their natural habitat. The present day urban dwellers, in an attempt to survive today’s growing competition and meet the ever increasing demands for commitment, often fulfill their passion by switching on the television and remaining glued to wildlife channels like Discovery, Animal Planet and National Geographic. And then, when you get the much awaited holiday, but naturally you opt for the wilderness, the irresistible urge almost invariably gets the better of you and you escape. For majority of us, the call of the wild is almost impossible to resist. Visiting the forest areas opens up a whole new world to city dwellers, giving them the chance to unravel the wildlife treasures, be closer to nature and breathe fresh air. So long as the eternal desire of mankind to explore the natural habitats of animals does not result in damage or destruction of their habitat or threatening the existence of endangered species, so long as humankind shoots the animals with camera and not with guns, and so long as all other associated activities are sustainable and harmless, there is absolutely no harm in wildlife tourism. In that manner we can also avoid a number of other associated evils. For tourists, travelling is a chance to broaden the mind, explore the world, meet new people and see the unseen. In order that we continue to get the chances to, a sustainable practice is the need of the hour. As a part of initiative towards sustainable forest tourism, to ensure that vehicles entering forests do not disturb the peace there, the introduction of battery-driven electric vehicles (BEV) may be considered. The number of safari elephants may be increased so that they are not forced to work against their will. And strict actions need to be taken against the hoteliers encroaching on the forest land. Poaching for monetary gains The forest cover of the world has been shrinking over the centuries. This also has an impact on the population of animals worldwide. Existence of animals is vital for maintaining proper ecological balance. Poaching is another evil that has been continuously on the rise. It is the illegal hunting, killing or capturing of animals in order to get animal products like hides, furs, horn, teeth, ivory and bone. These are illegally traded for handsome amounts of money and in turn are used in the making of attires, fashion accessories, home décor and medicines. Despite the conscious efforts by the government, the continuous poaching of animals for monetary gains has been quite alarming. The list of endangered animals over the years has been expanding. The 2012 Red List updated at Rio+20 Earth Summit lists 132 species of plants, birds and animals in India including the Asiatic lion, Indian elephant and Royal Bengal Tiger as endangered and a few more including leopards and black bucks as threatened. It is saddening that so many species of animals have already become extinct from the face of the earth. However the silver lining is that the awareness for the world’s forests has been increasing over the last decade or so due to the combined efforts of animal rights activists and environmentalists. The positive awareness has also been augmented due to the role of forests in the global carbon cycle and their capability of mitigating the climate change. But individual enlightenment and conscious efforts towards animal conservation is also very important to stop the evils of poaching. Conclusion Forests are abundant renewable natural resources that bring to mankind a variety of economic, social, environmental and cultural benefits and services. The global demand for their products and services is ever increasing with the growth of population. Unfortunately, the growth of forest resources has not been impressive mainly due to deforestation, conversion into other landforms, overharvesting, some traditional types of cultivation like Jhum and degradation resulting from air, water and soil pollution. Forests are also often exposed to evils like forest fires which have devastating effect on the ecosystems. These not only adversely affect the climatic stability, they also contribute to excruciating poverty because forests are home to about 60 million people of the world and they depend upon them for their life and subsistence. They live on and derive their survival needs from a variety of forest products like fruits, vegetables, oils, roots, spices, herbs, meat, bark and clothing material like animal fur and skins, building materials, gums, dyes and medicinal plants. Needless to mention forests promote sustainable development and also help to stabilize greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere. Forestry leads to sustainable development in numerous ways. Of these the most important are environmental, social and economic benefits arising from forests. To maximise these benefits broader land management plans are required. For city dwellers an escape from the monotonicity of routine city life is essential from time to time. But this many of us eager tourists fail to keep in mind while traversing their lands. Consequently, a necessary evil that has come to be associated with the tourism industry is the rapid destruction of the fragile ecosystems due to overuse, degradation of forests due to their trampling under the feet of ill-concerned tourists and pollution of scenic location due to throwing of garbage by vacationers. The increasing intensity of such unsustainable tourism has led the authorities in many countries to rethink the overall efficiency of tourism industry as the economic benefits arising out of it seem to be grossly outweighed by environmental degradation and cultural destruction. Indian forests are treasure troves of wildlife and there should absolutely be no problem in people wishing to visit those to see their wild friends in their natural habitat. All that is required is proper care and appropriate regulations in place. The government of India has been taking necessary steps for the conservation of forests and preservation of the critically endangered wildlife species. To help make its efforts successful, initiative is also required from the citizens. Our ancestors have seen much more of forests than us. For decades we have been constantly told that forests are to be conserved if we want to give the gift of a good future to our children. It is one of those important investments one would like to make for the coming generations. There has perhaps never been a time as important as the present. So, if any steps are to be taken, NOW is the time!

Bloomsbury India Professional recently launched the book “A Practical Guide to Corporate Social Responsibility - Law, Accounting and Taxation Aspects” written by CS Rupanjana De as a complete one stop solution to all problems and queries related to the rising concept of Corporate Social Responsibility. CSR, now a mandate for prescribed classes of companies under the Companies Act, 2013 has been growing in popularity with the aim of alleviating the crippling social problems of India that have been decaying the country for decades. The book not only focuses on a company’s legal aspects of complying with the norms, but also discusses which related aspects of Schedule VII are allowed or disallowed as activities of CSR. The book has lucidated on the accounting aspects, disclosures, taxation aspects, practical problems and solutions for understanding the various norms, and the history of CSR, and implementation of this concept in other countries have been penned impeccably by Ms De. A research of CSR spending by top companies has also been shown in the book to understand the path in which CSR is headed for the development of the country. Perhaps the first guide on CSR in the market, this book is set to be a forerunner in the field of corporates striving to do better in the social sector, and for the layman, students and professionals with a knack for CSR. Ms De, apart from being a practicing Company Secretary (with an expertise in the field of CSR) is a gold Medalist in Economics, LLM and EMLE. She is a regular speaker at events organized by ICSI, ICAI, ICMAI and other professional events and a regular contributor to journals published by the same. Editor of her own brainchild, Touriosity TravelMag, a theme based travel magazine, she has also co-authored the famed book, “Company Law Ready Referencer” which had a grand launch at Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industries last year in the presence of esteemed dignitaries and received accolades from across the corporate world. Priced at Rs. 795 per copy, the book is available at bookstores across the country as well as on online shopping sites. (https://www.bloomsbury.com/in/corporate-social-responsibility-9789386606945/).

City-based travel magazine Touriosity Travelmag recently joined hands with Calcutta Tram Corporation and West Bengal Tourism to gift the city a unique present - a tram painted in the colours of Kolkata. The idea was conceptualized by Rupanjana De, Editor of Touriosity Travelmag, who felt that the trams, which are waning from the city and losing out to its fast-paced counterparts, need an upheaval so that it withholds the heritage that Kolkata is identified with. Renowned Spanish Illustrator and regular Touriosity Artist’s Impression columnist Joaquin Gonzalez Dorao was more than happy to lead this initiative, he himself being a lover of  trams. An avid traveler and travel illustrator, Joaquin on hearing of this initiative, agreed to paint the tram in the myriad hues of the city. Joaquin was taken round the city of Kolkata to all the places that make it the City of Joy – from College Street to the Ghats, from China Town to Park Street; from all the buildings of the British Era to temples - for inspiration. Needless to say how delighted Joaquin was to visit all the nooks and corners and soak in the culture of the city. A tram was provided by CTC to paint on, at its Nonapukur Depot. A lime green hue was chosen as its body colour (to stand out in the crowd!) over which the actual paintings would be done. On 11th and 12th August, Team Touriosity, along with Joaquin, sketched, painted and put effects to make the objects look real, and wrote down names of each and every thing painted, so that a non-Calcuttan would have no difficulty recognizing them. It is not only about upholding the beauty of Kolkata on an iconic medium like the tram, but it is also about the revival of the tram itself, something that has stood witness to the evolution of the city through the ages and  is dying today, amidst the private cars and AC Volvos. A surreal reflection of the city can be seen on the tram. Chai in Bhaanr, yellow taxi, the two Setus on the Ganges, Maa Durga, Maa Kali of Kalighat, almost all the famous monuments and personalities of the city and even quintessential Bengali cuisines like Rosogolla, Daab Chingri and egg rolls made their way to the body of the tram. To commemorate World Tourism Day on 27th September, the West Bengal Tourism inaugurated the tram, and the Chief Guest, Mr Ghulam Rabbani, Minister of State for Tourism, flagged off the event with a joyride on the tram with underprivileged girls from a local shelter home. The event took place at the legendary Esplanade Tram Depot, in the presence of dignitaries from the West Bengal Tourism Department, on a beautiful autumn morning, perfect for the tram to be shown off to the world for the very first time! The tram coursed through Dharmatala to Shyambazar, touching major heritage spots of North Calcutta. The tram is turning heads of locals and tourists alike. With projects like these, implemented with the impetus of heightening the city’s glory to attract tourists, Kolkata tourism is sure to get a hiatus like no other!