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All about the Tourism Shala in Delhi

The Tourism Shala is taking place in Delhi, on September 21, to promote sustainability in the travel industry in India.

Jazzmine Raine is a Travel Massive Delhi member and co-organizer of The Tourism Shala. She is a social entrepreneur and content creator with a passion for responsible travel, conscious consumption, ethical fashion and social good. She is the co-founder of Indias’s first zero waste guesthouse and tourism organization, Hara House.

Jazzmine Raine, co-organiser of the Delhi Tourism Sharla

Learn more about the event and why you should attend.

What motivated you to create a sustainable tourism conference in Delhi?

The average hotel guests uses over 300 litres of water per night, yet a village in a developing country uses an average of 500 litres in a month. The hospitality and tourism industry generates over 11K tonnes of waste annually and roughly 1/3 of food is wasted.

Tourism leakage in developing countries is at 90%, meaning for every 100 dollars spent in country, only 10 dollars remains. And we’re seeing the effects in India right in front of our eyes.

the tourism shala

Himachal’s beauty has been disgraced with new mountains of plastic waste lining the roads and camp sites. Rishikesh has had to close the Laxman Jhula bridge due to overtourism.

If we don’t act, things will only continue to get worse. Travel organizations needs to be held accountable, and travellers need to be able to access resources and tools that help them be more mindful in their travels. This is what motivated us to create The Tourism Shala.

What are some of the key issues that you will address?

Our lineup of speakers will be sparking conversation around critical topics within the industry, from sustainable accommodation, to the intersectionality of spirituality, religion, gender and travel, to the influence the tourism industry can have on empowering youth.

Through our hackathon, event participants will have the opportunity to address major social, economic, environmental and political issues the tourism industry is facing. In groups, we’ll be collectively creating solutions travellers and travel organization can implement to create the future of travel.

We’ll be taking the solutions and actionable steps participants create to develop a white paper outlining the sort of change we expect to see in the industry, and what weโ€™re asking the public, the industry and other stakeholders to do about it.

Who is the conference for?

Shala is Sankrit means home or shelter. In this context, The Tourism Shala is a place where people who are passionate about the future of travel will meet to bring goodness to the industry under one roof.

This event is for travel organizations who are already investing in sustainable practices, and travellers looking to learn more and collaborate with organizations across the sector on sustainability. We truly believe in the power of grassroots and emerging businesses and will see a lot of small but mighty influential organizations participating.

the tourism shala

The event is for people who are passionate about sustainable travel, and want to use their grassroots approach to shake things up and eventually assist these large organizations to get on board. We’re building a community and there is room for everyone if they’re willing to put the work in.

Peak DMC India are sponsoring. Can you tell us about their role in tourism in the region?

PEAK DMC India is helping travellers experience authentic and immersive travel across the country. They’ve put a big focus on cultural experiences, alternative forms of travel (such as cycling and trekking), and economically empowering youth and marginalized communities.

Although PEAK DMC won’t be able to speak at the event, Komal Darira from Urban Adventures will be highlighting the incredible impact they’ve had on youth in Delhi and Kochi through economic opportunity, especially for female youth.

Where do you see sustainable tourism in India heading in the next 5-10 years?

We see a lot more collaboration across the sector. There are limitless possibilities to make tourism more sustainable but we first need to break the silos across the industry.

We see more economic opportunity for marginalized communities and female youth, we see the tourism board supporting sustainable travel options, and we see travellers easily accessing resources online and on the ground to ensure they are making mindful choices.

We know this is all possible, we just need to get everyone on board to identify the major challenges, deep dive to the root of the problems, and create and implement solutions.

๐Ÿ‘‰ See the program and get your ticket for The Tourism Shala in Delhi on September 21.

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Photos: Impact Travel Alliance


Follow Jazzmine on Travel Massive to and learn more about The Tourism Shala.


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