Project TraVival - Towards Travel Revival
The pandemic came as a crash into all our lives, changing each and every aspect of it. And we definitely weren't prepared for such a drastic change at all. Over the past year, we've seen how the pandemic has distorted the Tourism Industry, reducing travel significantly all around the world - to stop the widespread of the virus.
However, as much as it was necessary to stop travel, the pandemic has also gravely affected the socio-economic wellbeing of our rural counterparts in India. Stripping them off their means of living, being mostly dependent on tourism and travel for their livelihood generation. But it would be wrong to say that the pandemic has only brought about damage & destruction in its wake.
The pandemic has made us realise a lot more than what is apparently in front of us. It has helped us to look & think beyond the ordinary and reach out towards creative solutions to survive within this new normal. It renewed the importance of offbeat Rural Tourism & Sustainable-Responsible Travel, even more so during such unprecedented times. And it is the pandemic that has pushed us towards nurturing innovative & original ways to help out in the renewal of the travel ecosystem.
TraVival - Its Inception
In 2020, United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) had focussed on 'Tourism and Rural Development' as its theme for World Tourism Day, held on 27th September. It emphasized on the importance of the rural sector to bring about a more equitable and sustainable travel ecosystem.
With this in mind, NotOnMap and Help Tourism in association with ICRT India (The International Centre for Responsible Tourism), backed by Booking.com, has come up with an ingenious project, “TraVival” - with focus on 'Training for Travel Revival' in order to boost Rural Tourism. TraVival is an initiative, with the aim to educate communities all across rural villages about the new-normal, and to empower them with various facets and guidelines regarding Health & Hygiene, Waste & Environment Management, Sustainability and Responsible Tourism practices.
We have consulted with various stakeholders, both on-ground and virtually - from the local people within the rural communities to government officials and other local organizations with similar objectives - for the conception of the Project TraVival. Raj Basu (Founder of Help Tourism), Rupesh Kumar K, (Responsible Tourism Mission State Coordinator Govt of Kerala), and many more, have provided their valuable inputs into this project.
Project TraVival - Training for Travel Revival
Today in these dire times, when rural pockets of India are dried up economically and socially due to reduced business during the pandemic, TraVival aims to aid Rural India to manage the impact of COVID crisis on Travel and Tourism
Project TraVival is a series of exclusive training videos, involving actionable & measurable steps, focused on Health and Hygiene, Sustainability & Responsible Travel, Waste and Environment Management, and many more. It is targeted towards Homestay Owners, Village Panchayats, Teachers/Youth and Women of villages and travelers across India thus covering all stakeholders of ‘Rural Tourism’ in India.
It is an ‘intensive and practical training program’ for the rural communities, through the development of an extensive set of multilingual training videos across 6 different categories, post which certification will also be provided. Distributed through online channels, it is an open-source, free of all expenses, for all the rural stakeholders within the travel industry. Its ultimate goal is to recover the rural economy by boosting rural tourism and to empower our rural counterparts towards self-sufficiency in such extraordinary times.
TraVival training videos will not only cover topics around personal safety and hygiene Covid-19 guidelines, but also educate people on sustainable practices and homestay business to sustain and grow during these times. TraVival is aware of the fact that mere awareness is not sufficient, and hence, in order to ensure its proper implementation the Village Panchayats and local stakeholders will be roped in for this project to ensure the smooth implementation.
Project TraVival has been in the works extensively over the past year, and finally it's near to its grand launch. With the launch of Travival, the aim is to create a self-sufficient travel ecosystem within cut-off rural communities in India.