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Campaigner for heritage tourism
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By 2020, cultural tourism will represent one-fifth of the global tourism market. Heritage conservationist, Rob Early, explains the opportunities available in a chat with John L. Paul
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THE CHILD volunteer who helped in restoring heritage sites is now the head of International Business at Oxford Archaeology, one of the largest heritage organisations in the U.K.
Rob Early co-chaired the three-day colloquium on `Conservation and cultural tourism', organised in Kochi by the British Library. A native of U.K., he had volunteered in the restoration work of the pre-historic Henge monuments which dot the countryside in his country.
He says that by 2020, cultural tourism will represent one-fifth of the global tourism market, with a growing focus on destinations in developing countries which have emerging economies.
"The relationship between culture, heritage, environment and tourism has now become a global concern. But experienced specialists in the field of heritage conservation are being called in much too late in developing heritage/tourism sites," he says.
After college, Mr. Early went to Peru to work on rural-development projects that involved remaking of ancient water systems and canals which had fallen into a state of disrepair centuries back. "The project was a success and exists even today. Local communities were very helpful, though we had to spend time to convince and persuade them. They benefited, since irrigation systems began working again, bringing under cultivation large areas of land," he says.
He has just begun associating with the Amber Community Trust and the Archaeological Survey of India in reviving ancient water systems in Amber, Rajasthan. "The Amber-conservation project will be used as an example of how to explore integrated approaches to eco and heritage tourism, that benefit host communities. We should identify the right people at the pre-development stage to make a success out of heritage projects. Local schools too can be involved in the initiative," says Mr. Early, who has successfully managed large heritage projects in Turkey, France and U.K.
The aim is to bring about sustainable development by incorporating heritage in a mass programme which works to improve the health, educational facilities and standard of life of local people. On the question why despite having more historical monuments than the whole of Europe, India attracts far less number of tourists as compared to even small countries in Europe, he said that it boils down to the inability of Indians to promote places of historical interest. He is an advocate of the need of heritage experts to be involved in heritage-tourism initiatives, from inception to completion.
"With flights to India getting cheaper, there will be more tourist arrivals to the country. But an integrated, creative and sustainable tourism package will have to be promoted. Tourists are becoming very sophisticated and they will quickly get tired of unimaginative schemes. Though much more needs to be done, Kerala stands out as compared with other Indian States as a tourist destination. The State is well-known in the U.K. as a fantastic destination," he says.
Apart from conserving its monuments and promoting them, India needs to develop basic infrastructure such as roads which lead to tourism sites and solve problems of water shortage. For example, it is rather difficult to get to the Hampi ruins, in Karnataka, because of the bad roads. There is also need to open more two and three-star hotels so that the country will be able to attract a diverse range of tourists. But care has to be taken to prevent India from becoming a destination of backpackers, warns Mr. Early. His wife is an educational liaison officer on heritage issues.
Photo: Mahesh Harilal
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Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
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