Rajeev K. Manocha
rajeev@indiaah.in         

  I am not talking as an alien. I have given past many years to tour and travel world as a journalist and have observed different economical, ecological, environmental and social impacts on travel industry.  I have the honour to talk to many a person both executives and laymen and tried to exact their feelings on the burning issue of climatic change along with related ones but most of the times, their response has been off the mark. For a majority of them, the other visible issues were more important and the rest did not give it a thought at all.

                The travellers have also not been an exception. The casual ones were just too occupied with the joy of travelling to faraway places and the regular lot was immersed deep in its own professional problems. I am very sorry to say, most people in this category were the creature of the present and were hardly concerned about their successors who are accursed to face their follies. Still I am not surprised as the human nature has always been that way.

                But as a very small and humble part of the gigantic travel industry, I must remind to all who have greater say in this arena, that yours is the biggest service industry in the world. In my opinion, no other industry is indulged in that perilous a game with its natural assets- the hills, the forests, the beautiful islands and yes, the coral reefs. Nearly everyone in the industry is taking them all for granted and is treating in a way as a self-oriented businessman do,  giving hardly any care to their well being.  In this age of ever-growing tourism, what would be their plight in the days to come is not very hard to imagine. Just think of the immense pressure these natural resources would be under when millions of travellers, most of them from the newer zones, will throng around them. Let us call a spade a spade. Be it travellers or the people pertaining with the tour and travel industry, both are showing an apathy to these natural boons. Shall I have to remind my brathren that these are the backbone of everything related to tour and travel and with its erosion not only the travel industry but entire world of tourism might go to rack and ruin.

                To sum it all up, the climatic changes are a virtual menace to the very concept of tourism and if not dealt with in time, may prove such damaging for the industry that it may even cease to exist. So, wake up before it is too late.