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Understanding Culturally Sustainable Tourism An Observed Comparison of the Models followed by Kerala and Goa
Staju Jacob* Introduction Tourism, the gamut of activities of people outside their usual environment especially when such travel is for pleasure or business, has been a source of income for host countries since centuries. India had its share of ancient and historical tourists, from Fa-Hien and Hieun-Tsiang in 399 AD and 630 AD respectively to Alberuni and Pietro Della Valle in 1017 AD and 1621 AD respectively. However, the restrictions of distance, unpredictability of unmapped terrains, time and unavailability of faster transport restricted the numbers. With the advent of air travel, improved geographical mapping of territories and accessibility to distant lands these numbers have grown exponentially. The reasons for tourism are not myriad. Many travel in order to meet their family and friends living far away. Others travel for reasons of religious obligations and spiritual quest (which includes the quest to find/discover oneself). To many, traveling provides an impermanent flight from mundane reality at home. For the large majority however, the quest for sun, sea and other natural rarities not found in their land of origin or domicile is the strongest travel motivator. This general fancy to see and/or enjoy what is not available or possible in ones own land is not limited to sun, sea or mountains. The rain tourism for the Arabian tourist and medical tourism for the uninsured and underinsured in developed countries is an extension of this enjoying what is not available in ones own land concept. Similarly, unseemly activities like gambling in Las Vegas or illegal ones likes pedophilia, quest for drugs and sex tourism are the degenerate manifestations of this enjoying what is not available/possible concept. Benefits of Tourism Throughout the world, tourism is promoted by governments sector because it supposedly contributes to creating wealth at the national and local levels. For many developing countries, tourism has become a significant foreign exchange earner (Sharpley 2002). Tourism, it is also suggested, generates enough revenue to maintain and preserve the heritage and historical monuments which would otherwise have fallen into rapid dilapidation (Fraser Coast 2005). Tourism is also an effective source of employment and income to local communities. It could be averred somewhat platitudinously, that tourism development in a particular region is successful as long as its social, environmental and economic benefits outweigh the costs when considered holistically (Sharpley 2002). Tourism also brings in a multiplier effect with each dollar introduced into the local economy by its expenditure and re-use. It provides a diversification opportunity in many cash strapped economies and makes the economy less reliant on traditional industries, agriculture, fishing or mining (Fraser Coast 2005). Since tourism brings in more people, it provides an opportunity to existing businesses to expand, improve facilities and (in many cases where unscrupulous price discrimination is easy to practice in the absence of strong regulation) to charge higher prices from the tourists for the same goods or services provided (Kumar 1999). Usually improved infra-structure, roads, transport and communication network also follow the flow of tourists to a region. Since a small percentage of tourists may end up moving permanently to the place of their visit, it could possibly lead to development of residential areas (Fraser Coast 2005; Daijiworld 2006). Since tourism as a predominantly service business does not rest upon huge investments of plant, machinery and pollutant-cleaning systems, it has been argued that tourism is also an environment-friendly economic activity. On the socio-cultural front, it is suggested that tourism creates an opportunity for residents to interact with other cultures and ingenerates new ideas and inter-cultural awareness into the community, which could lead to social progress and cultural evolution (Liu 2003). Others have argued that the value that tourists attach to indigenous traditions and practices can actually encourage local communities to maintain their unique traditions, customs and identity (Tourism Queensland 2006). Detrimental impact of tourism Despite the euphoria about benefits of tourism and its role in economic development, the recent decades have seen strong reservations over unregulated forms of tourism development. The banes of tourism and its detrimental consequences have been documented rather elaborately. Some of the key concerns could be

*Asst. Professor, Indian Business Academy, Bangalore. staju.jacob@gmail.com

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easily identified, categorized broadly into environmental, economic, socio-cultural and ethico-legal issues and enumerated as follows. Environmental Issues That private enterprise is more concerned about their profits than the larger picture of sustainable ecosystems is rather well-known. But when government officials of developing countries collude with the larger businesses to turn a blind eye to environmental abuses, it becomes the recipe for a humongous environmental debacle. For instance, proliferation of hotels often usurp, with thinly-veiled combination of their financial clout and corrupt bureaucracy, scarce resources like water and access to beaches. There are also some serious possibilities of conflict when an area under cultivation is attempted to be taken over for development of tourism-related ventures (Seth 2006). Rapidly declining forest cover is another strong concern in India. Violations of coastal regulatory zone regulations by some of the bigger hotel chains are quite common in Indian coastal belts. Showers, swimming pools and watering of lawns for these tourist facilities often deplete ground water resources (Tourism Concern 2008). Another environmental concern is that of waste-removal. Waste (much of them like plastic packaging material are non-biodegradable) generated and discarded by tourists and tourism enterprises are cumbersome to remove from fragile areas. Consequently, heaps of rubbish are slowly appearing in secluded nooks and corners of beautiful beaches and other landscapes on earth (Tourism Concern 2008). (It was estimated that between 1953 to 1990, more than 50 tons of plastic, glass and metal have been dumped in and around the Mount Everest, by mountaineering enthusiasts (Ryan 2003)) Marine life is also being adversely impacted by irresponsible and indiscriminate water sports, boating trips and dolphin and crocodile-sighting jaunts for the benefit of tourists. Even in the jungles, zoos and natural parks, there are evidences that too many visits by tourists could dampen the breeding and feeding patterns of even fierce animals like lions and gorillas (Ryan 2003). Economic Issues Despite euphoric pronouncements by tourism officials, many researchers have concluded that tourism in rural areas is not a magical substitute for economic neglect of the region. At best, it is only a supplement for an already thriving rural economy rather than a mainstay for rural development (Hall 2006; Richards 2006). The displacement of a farmer in rural areas caused by tourism-related encroachments on his property often causes him to turn to tourism itself as the saviour, forcing a proud land-owner to become a servile hotel clerk or tourist taxi driver. Some scholars also warn that instead of boosting the economy, mass tourism can be harmful to thriving local businessmen and hoteliers who are forced to compete with well-established multinational corporations (Tourism Concern 2008). A localized inflation resulting out of the foreign tourists higher purchasing capacity of scarce resources could be another economic consequence of tourism (Hall 2006). In most tourist-frequented cities, the cost of accommodation, food and transport are higher than surrounding tourist-unfrequented areas. The economic argument that tourism often brings foreign currency only to see it being sucked back ruthlessly by tourist enterprises (like airplanes, luxury hotels and premium recreational facilities) owned by multi-national corporations is also a resounding one (Nicholson-Lord 2002) . Even when MNC corporations are not involved, the benefits are often accrued by the elitist and politically well-connected local or national business houses thus only exacerbating the economic inequalities. The hype about employment opportunities also has its flip side. Even those who are supposedly employed, are routinely given a break during the off-season time and then taken back when the tourist season kickstarts. This practice is quite common in Goa (where the monsoons are the harbingers of reduced tourism activity), even adopted by several star hotels and resorts. Employment opportunities also get reduced drastically whenever there is a hint of crisis. The scare about SARS and Bird flu, the fear of terrorism (and the resultant travel advisories issued by many foreign governments) and internal conflicts take a huge toll on tourist arrivals, thus blowing away employment opportunities in a jiffy. The socio-economic issue of job for locals also creates friction. It is often heard that while many of the jobs such as waiters, gardeners and room-boys are given to locals, the senior positions of General Managers and such in tourist enterprises often go to outsiders (from some other region of the same country and generally having a different mother-tongue) or even foreigners (UN Environment Programme 2002).

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Even when employed, large numbers of casual workers in tourism-related employment work under inhumane conditions. It is estimated that around 19 million young people around the world work in professions related to tourism, including often taking up unofficial jobs like barmen, roving beach vendors, informal tour guides, laundry workers etc. and tolerating exploitative working conditions (Tourism Concern 2008). Many of the masseurs, sellers of silver jewellery and wicker baskets roaming the beaches of Goa and Kerala are children or teenagers who work from the wee hours of the morning to late evenings. Needless to say, some of these deprived children easily fall prey to the seducements of pedophiles (Odone 2002). Socio-Cultural Issues The social consequences of unfettered tourism are not far behind. Several studies have also shown strong links between increased tourism activities and incidence of crime in a region (Ochrym 1990; Edwin and James 1980; Seth 2006). (Though fewer in number, some studies have negated this intuitional and general presumption of a continual linkage between the two (Pizam 1982)). Prostitution and the otherwise casual attitude towards sexuality (explored more under ethico-legal issues) also bring with it the possible health hazards of HIV/AIDS and social problems like increased abortion. The detrimental impact of widespread gambling on local society is also quite undisputed. Some studies about the gambling situation in Thailand and Cambodia estimate that different forms of gambling amounted to almost 40 percent of the local economy and caused serious financial problems for the youth. These studies have cautioned that casinos merely breed different crimes like drugs and prostitution, all under one roof and have recommended the closure of casinos at the earliest (Sophirom 2003). Possibilities of conflicts also arise between residents and tourists for the same recreational facilities and infrastructure. Many beaches, temples and churches in Goa, packed with international and intra-national tourists offer hardly any space for the local residents to relax or enjoy, often causing considerable disgruntlement. Adding fuel to fire, the disdain or amusement with which many foreign tourists treat indigenous religious customs and practices, often irritate and cause resentment amongst the local populace (Nicholson-Lord 2002). A related cultural objection is that tourism is a powerful cultural solvent, which dissolves the indigenous customs and traditions in the swamp of a global market-oriented tourist culture. This cultural solvency is the result of standardization of many facilities at popular destinations, to satisfy the tourists quest for familiarity even while at a foreign destination (UN Environment Programme 2002). The Israeli tourist, for instance travels thousands of kilometers to reach Goa and enjoy the sun and sand here, but his persistent yearning for Jewish food often creates a demand for this type of cuisine. While this is no major hindrance in a culture tolerant of both types of cuisines, it does create a conflicting situation if the ethos of the destination directly conflicts with the type of product/service demanded. What if hordes of tourists want to have liquor in Saudi Arabia or a beef hamburger in the temple town of Madurai? Will this systematic demand not create its own clandestine supply? Will this clandestine supply not run counter to the existing cultural ethos of this destination and make vile schemers out of entrepreneurs who try to cash in this opportunity? What about socio-ethical dilemma of those who guiltily believe in the depths of their hearts that they are doing something sinister and unacceptable in their own social and cultural paradigm, but nevertheless do the trade out of competitive business compulsions? Ethical and Legal Issues Another socio-ethical objection is the phenomenon called staged authenticity where a cultural tradition or a custom is turned into a well-rehearsed tourist spectacle (Nicholson-Lord 2002). The ceremony of garlanding many foreign tourists in India, the wearing of saris by receptionists of several hotels in Goa (even though in non-working situations, they may prefer to wear salwar or skirt), the show of local traditional dances in resorts and hotels; all these become part of this staged authenticity. Sometimes the festivals and religious rituals are adapted and sanitized in order to neatly package it into the tourists sensibilities, resulting in reconstructed ethnicity(UN Environment Programme 2002). Very often the tourists are merely curious and want a cursory feel of the local cultural flavour without wanting or having the time to enjoy and understand it at leisure. This results in a conveniently-wrapped tradition pack which each tourist is treated to, so that he can return and boast about his cultural conquests and expertise to wideeyed friends and acquaintances.

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For the local community, whatever is sacred and deeply venerable (when mixed with a heady mixture of greed and aspiration for upward financial mobility), soon becomes a saleable commodity. This commodification and museumization of local art forms and cultures for tourist consumption often violate the spiritual and aesthetic concerns of the practitioners (Kerala Tourism Watch 2008). Some social researchers and NGOs unhesitatingly call this a form of neo-colonialism (International Bicycle Fund 1995). With their wealth, status and leisure the tourists often awe the vulnerable locals, and to some extent create a feeling of discontent and loathing for their own local value systems (Sawkar et al 1998). (Yet these same tourists often miss the finer points and subtlety of the life of the local people, which include familial love, community camaraderie, spiritual wisdom, mythology and cultural legacy (Nicholson-Lord 2002).) A place swamped with affluent tourists very soon becomes a cess-pool of greed, with every stake-holder from taxidrivers to hotel employees, all trying to make the quickest buck. Each home along many coastal belts invariably becomes a commercial centre constantly proffering some goods or services for sale. As mentioned under social issues increased prostitution is another side-effect of tourism. Most religious ideologies condemn commercialized sexual services as unethical. While most scholars agree that prostitution doesnt result only out of tourism, but demand for prostitutes tend to increase in countries frequented by tourists. In places like Hamburg and Amsterdam, the brothels have themselves become tourist attractions (Ryan 2003). The role of sex tourism and consequent exploitation of women in countries like Thailand is well-documented. In countries like India, where prostitution is considered illegal, the whole activity is driven underground with pimps and local criminals controlling the whole show. Since many of these criminals also deal in drugs and other illegal activities, the whole prostitution business soon creates a parallel crime cocktail economy of drugs, alcohol, gambling and petty crimes. Another consequence of illegal prostitution, as seen in our study on Goa is that when coupled with an atmosphere of sexual libertarianism, it often leads to informal prostitution (when the employees of many tourism-related ventures enter into short-lived relationships with tourists) and pedophilia. Driven by demand, in such an ambience, even many so-called alternative medical tourism initiatives like ayurvedic clinics and massages (quite common in many parts of India) also become hubs for sexual services (Kerala Tourism Watch 2008). THE DEBATE ON SUSTAINABLE AND ALTERNATIVE TOURISM First highlighted by the International Union for the conservation of Nature in 1980, many current leaders in tourism see sustainable tourism as an idea that collates and holistically deals with issues related to economic, social, cultural and environmental repercussions of a tourism project (Edgell Sr. 2006) . A result of this kind of holistic thinking it is assumed, would naturally avoid many of the pit-falls of unhindered tourism development. Swarbrooke defined sustainable tourism as tourism which is economically viable, but does not destroy the resources on which the future of tourism will depend, notably the physical environment, and the social fabric of the host community (Fennell 2005). Although sustainable tourism developed in juxtaposition with strong global environmental awakening and awareness, it quickly took on a much larger canvass with its disquisitions on poverty alleviation, limits of technology usage and cross-cultural issues. For tourism to become sustainable, some exhortative principles were indicated as follows (Fennell 2005): (i) Reducing the tension between stakeholders in tourism (ii) Long-term sustainability of resources (iii) Putting limits to growth (iv) Visitor satisfaction (v) Value of tourism as a form of development Other scholars identified the key objectives of sustainable tourism: improving both long-term and shortterm living standards of the host population; satisfying the demand of increasing number of tourists; and safeguarding the natural environment so that both the preceding goals could be met (Liu 2003). Two broad approaches namely, macro and micro approaches to creating sustainable tourism have also been enumerated in the last decade (Garrod and Fyall 1998). The macro approach uses environmental balance sheets to measure overall sustainability of a region, while the micro approach makes use of an overall costbenefit analysis of each new project to come to a conclusion regarding its sustainability. It was also argued (Wearing and Neil 1999) that some absolute thresholds for tourism growth could be set by computing the carrying-capacity of a regional tourism system to contain haphazard and chaotic growth. Since there are many dimensions of sustainable tourism including economic sustainability, socio-cultural sustainability and
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environmental sustainability, determination of carrying-capacities along all these dimensions becomes a subjective, cumbersome and incommodious task. Hence these sustainability standards, though highly laudable often verge on the utopian. The precise methods and measures by which this sustainability can be lucidly attained and tangibly measured continue to remain caliginous. The means and instruments advocated for this end by enthusiastic practitioners and writers are often fraught with simplistic or nave views (Liu 2003). Similarly, academics who have attempted to set absolute thresholds to tourism growth in different regions or compute carrying-capacities (especially in the socio-cultural dimensions which is the main thrust of this paper), have only met with limited success. Undeterred by the nebulous contours of the sustainability discourse in the socio-cultural arena, this paper has attempted to map the characteristics of socially and culturally preferable (and hopefully, sustainable) tourism through a comparison of the overall philosophy and approach to tourism in Kerala (Tekkady) and Goa. Methodology of this comparative study This study was done through a combination of unobtrusive observations of activities in the region and lowkey, unstructured interviews. The observations and findings are the result of several visits by the author to both these areas. This study brings into limelight a contrasting and comparative look at the overall philosophy of tourism development followed in Goa and Kerala. Although some tourist activities (for example, spice garden visits) may be slightly different from those carried out in other parts of Kerala (especially beach tourism), there is little reason to believe that these few activities invalidate the cultural representativeness of Tekkady to gain an understanding of tourism as practiced in Kerala. In case of Goa, the author worked and lived in Goa for more than a decade. Substantial time was spent as a tourist also in parts of Goa. Since the main thrust of this study was on the socio-economic sustainability angle, the problems and close observations relate to the social milieu. Environmental issues like coastal regulatory zone, encroachment of agricultural land, pollution issues and water issues which have grabbed headlines during the last decade in Kerala and Goa have not been explored in depth. Comparative findings and analysis of tourism philosophy in Kerala and Goa Background of Goa and Kerala Goa, a part of India since ancient times, fell under Portuguese rule from the 16th century AD. Unlike Britishers, Portuguese rulers were Roman Catholics and in the initial centuries of their rule, there are credible reports of large scale proselytization. Although Goa presently is a state with Hindu majority, the Christian population (as a percentage) is much higher than the rest of India. Unlike Britishers, some Portuguese rulers encouraged their men to marry local women thus creating the bedrock of a EuroChristian and unique cultural blend living harmoniously in close proximity of large Hindu population. Drinking is fairly common among the Goan Christians with women-folk also not too averse to consuming wine, gin etc. As on 2000, there were close to 3000 bars and establishments serving liquor to a population of around 13.5 lacs (Dhupdale, Motghare et al 2006). Despite this data, alcohol-dependency is generally frowned upon. Among Christians, ball-room dancing is normally a part of festivities and special occasions like weddings. Similarly, Konkani drama Tiatr is quite popular in Goa, especially the villages. Goan women, especially the Christians are quite independent and encouraged to work. In terms of dressing habits, Christian women often wear knee-length skirts. Post-liberation of Goa from the Portuguese regime in 1961, many have adopted salwar-kameez and saris also. Hindu women wear saris and salwar suits, but the prevalence of western outfits as a result of fashion trends have increased in recent times. Muslim population in Goa is not sizeable and the women rarely wear purdahs. With a 125 km. long coastline, Goa has a number of beaches, beckoning all types of tourists from the low-income backpackers to the more affluent 5-star resort tourist. Although most of the Goans speak English and Hindi with varying degrees of fluency, the mother tongue of Goans is Konkani. Goan Hindus also speak Marathi quite fluently. Some of these western food and dressing habits, cultural distinctiveness often created stereotypes of Goa and Goans, all of which were not to the liking of Goans themselves (Couto 2008). Kerala, mythologically believed to be the created by Parasurama, by a throw of his axe, was formed into the modern state in 1956 with merger of 3 princely states. Although part of the general Dravidian South Indian culture, it is unique in many ways. Having a large coastline, a significant part of its population is Christians believed to be converted in first century AD by St. Thomas, a disciple of Christ. Non-vegeterian
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and sea-food cuisine is quite common in Kerala. Politically also, Kerala has chosen communist leadership to rule the state unlike other south Indian states. Kerala is often considered one of the most developed states in India, with high literacy and human development indicators. The language spoken is Malayalam. Although knowledge of English is widely prevalent, fluent English or Hindi speakers are few, especially in non-urban areas. Kerala also has sizeable Muslim population, and all the three communities live, by and large, in harmony. Although non-vegetarianism is quite common, south Indian dishes like Idli, dosa, sambhar etc. are part of the Malayali cuisine also. In terms of dressing, many Malayalis still wear lungis while women wear saris or salwars. Muslim ladies often wear the black Muslim pardah and head scarfs although many of them keep the face unveiled. Tekkady is a part of Idduki district in Kerala, bordering Tamil Nadu. Idduki is famous for its cardamom plantations and Tekkady is part of it. Tekkady with its cool weather and typical greenery is a hill station. It also has a lake where boating trips are conducted. Visits to spice gardens, ride on elephants and wild-life boating is popular in Tekkady. Interestingly, although Kerala is also the southward continuation of the same coastal belt of Goa, the culture, style of living, spoken languages, social leisure pursuits and dressing styles of both places are sharply different. Although many of the food ingredients in both Kerala in Goa are similar (use of sea food, rice, coconut, cashewnuts), their style of preparation and flavour are distinctively different. Football as a sport and well-entrenched Christianity is one area of similarity between both the states. The Tourism history and Image of Goa The origin of the hippie movement and subsequent travels of hippies led them to discover Goa. Goas cosmopolitan and tolerant culture and beaches caused hippies to gather in large numbers. With hippies, came drugs and trance music (Wikipedia 2008). The official and government tourism machinery did little to create this hippie surge in Goa, other than facilitating their entry in large numbers. When this brought in nudism on some beaches in the 1970s (nudism is illegal now, although some topless foreign tourists can still be spotted on some isolated beaches), most authorities turned a blind eye to that in the interest of currency in-flows, while the local population, much less conservative (than the rest of the semi-urban and rural India) ignored it. This permissiveness towards nudism became part of an overall non-interfering attitude by Goans into the way hippies and tourists conducted themselves. Goans who benefited through tourism turned a blind eye to the behaviour of hippie tourists including their consumption of drugs, late night beach parties and promiscuous behaviour patterns. Moreover the hippies themselves were by and large peaceful, and except for their freakish behaviour and appearances, were able to adapt to local Goan way of life, eating Goan food and staying in simple accommodations (Mandrekar 2008). The hippies and back-packers also made lasting friendships with many local people and kept coming back to Goa. They were not persnickety like the up-market tourists and did not cause any serious resource depletions in Goa. The hippie movement was partly responsible for the image of Goa by default as a destination of freedom and sensuality. To the chagrin of many Goans, when the image of Goa began to be marketed as a tourist paradise it included the charm of liquor, drugs, sea, sand and although not mentioned explicitly, a friendly culture of song, dance and permissiveness. In a New York Times article, Sudhir Kakar, a psychoanalyst and novelist, was quoted as saying that in the Indian mind Goa has long signified sensual freedom. It was an association that was picked up also by Hindi movies of 70s and 80s, in which Goan women were often portrayed as sexually available and Goan men as drunks (Sengupta 2007). To this stark image, the official marketing departments for tourism development, merely contributed by their sepulchral silence and therefore (as perceived by many), implied an acceptance of the validity of this kind of an image. The dearth of other coherent strategies for tourism development might have contributed to this implicit acceptance of the fun image of Goa as the most saleable destination marketing strategy by official tourism sector. When Goa and Goans started waking up to this rather stereotyped and obnoxious portrayal of their land, official tourism bureaucracy did try to change their tacks. They started marketing the festivities of Goa, notably the Carnival besides the usual Christmas and New Year. However the essence of spirituality and dignified celebrations which marks many other festivals was absence here too. The reasons were simple. Carnival is historically considered a festival of drunken revelry and uninhibited carnal freedoms before the start of lent in Christian cultures. The promotion of this festival instead of changing the focus of Goas image, only added fuel to the licentious image of Goa. The officialdom also tried promoting Goa as a water-sports destination. Sunbathing, water sports and other beach activities often going together, the projection of Goa
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as a water-sports destination did little to help shed its sensual image, given that the dress code for much of water-sports is the bikini, often associated with sensuality. Tourism History and Image of Kerala Kerala, though having a much longer coastline than Goa, started late in the tourism business. Keralas strongly entrenched cultural traditions of traditional dance, music and festivals provided an initial impetus to tourist activities. In case of Kerala, the image that was created was not by default, but the result of a more deliberate planning by the officialdom. Knowing fully the dangers of beach tourism alone (although the coastline of Kerala is almost five times longer than Goa), they carefully crafted a mixture of beachtourism, natural medicine tourism (ayurvedic and naturopathy), back-water and boating tourism, hill-station and spice garden tourism, wild-life and jungle tourism and to some extent cultural tourism. Sensuality and sensual image building in most cases has been carefully muted. Their advertisements have rarely projected swim-wear clad models (although this is slowly reversing, with some recent advertisements being more racy). Comparison of Tourist Ratios in Kerala and Goa The tourist arrivals are also carefully controlled and calibrated, as can be seen by the comparison of tourist arrivals in Goa and Kerala. As on 2005, the number of tourist arrivals in Kerala was around 63 lacs (of which only 3.5 lacs are foreign tourists) (Department of Tourism, Kerala 2005). The ratio of tourist arrivals to local population is only around 0.2 (around 20 %). In contrast the total number of tourist arrivals in Goa is around 20 lacs (of which around 3.4 lacs, roughly the same as Kerala, are foreign tourists) (Neoncarrot 2007; Datamation Consultants 2006). With the population of Goa around 13.5 lacs, this amounts to a tourist ratio of 1.48 tourists for every native/resident of Goa. No wonder that many beaches are strewn with wastes (Goacom 1999) and many Goans feel that area available to them as locals is very much reduced and overpopulated (Sawkar et al 1998). Whether this low tourist ratio in Kerala is a result of carefully calibrated tourism philosophy or overall tourism marketing failure is not very clear, but from the angle of culturally sustainable tourism, it is undoubtedly a welcome development. Regulation and Public Disapproval As observed in the study, two distinct strategies are being deployed in Kerala to prevent the spillover effects of beach tourism. Increased regulation and strong signals of disapprovals by police officials were conveyed to tourists indulging in partial or full nudism on Kerala beaches. (Strong and often intimidating and conservative local glances also made many of the sea revelers switch to safer clothing patterns). Secondly, many of the beach resorts were generally isolated and often not within the easy reach of the local population. The case of beaches with high tourist inflows, almost merging into local population areas were few and far in between. Beaches frequented by local population in large numbers (like beach in Kozhikode) were carefully kept out of the hyped foreign tourist circuits. In Goa, exposed over years to the presence of tourists, many police officials adopt a largely non-interfering approach towards tourists and their behaviour. Some authors writing on Goa have suggested an increased policing activity and deployment of higher levels of police force, especially women constables (Couto 2008) to prevent crimes and improve vigilance. There are notable differences in the style of policing in both the states. The police force is Goa is used to tourism and often takes a lenient way of rave parties, nudism and usage of drugs. In many cases, possession of drugs and sex-related misconduct is only used by the police officials as a pretext to extort money from foreigner tourists (Vaz 2008). As mentioned earlier, the public also adopted a largely non-interfering attitude to usage of drugs, alcohol and sexual permissiveness by western tourists in the late starting from the late 60s and 70s. Some NGOs (mentioned as fake NGOs in figure 3) only used the bogey of environment to raise illicit funds from tourism ventures. In Kerala, since the tourist ratio is low, the police force is often composed of police officials who come from non-tourist interiors of Kerala. Before they get ensconced in the ways of the beach tourism and its contributory effects of drugs and related-obnoxiousness, they are often transferred to hinterland areas. This salutary mingling of police personnel exposed to rampant coastal tourism and non-tourism-implanted police constabulary from hinterland, results in keeping the force relatively clean from the evils of tourism.

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This is hardly possible in case of Goa, considering that the entire state including the complete police force of Goa is routinely exposed to mammoth numbers of tourists. Keralas multi-pronged tourism strategy also makes sure that diverse types of tourists visit the state. While some visit it for natural health and rejuvenation purposes, other visit it for back-water tourism and still others take the route of wild-life, jungle and adventure tourism. There are still others who would like to sample a little of everything that Kerala has to offer including its ancient cultural ethos and religious festivals and unique sea-food based spicy cuisine. Tourists who are in single-minded pursuit of beach and sunshine often move to places like Goa. An interesting metaphor of inverted funnel can be used to sum up the overall inflow of tourists into Kerala (see Figure1 below).

While the tourist inflow in Goa encourages indiscriminate flow of tourists into the state (see Figure 2 below), the inflow into Kerala is controlled by the imagery of Kerala projected to tourists. However, once the tourists enter the state, all-out efforts are made to enchant them using different types of tourism experiences (as seen in Figure1 above). In Goa, large numbers of tourist inflows and the money involved in tourism enterprises have made the private players in the tourism economy very powerful. The power and might of the hotel lobby, liquor lobby, entertainment and recreation lobby (casinos, pubs, discos) real-estate and construction lobby and transport lobby (including taxis and private tour operators) is legendary in Goa and often have an overbearing influence on the other stakeholders like government, local community and tourism officialdom. Another reason for the influence of these lobbies may be due to the fact that already powerful and well-oiled business interests from India and abroad have entered Goa in a big way, to capture a pie of the tourism bonanza. (See figure 3 for a diagrammatic representation of the influence exercised by these players).

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In Kerala, by constrast, the tourism enterprises are still not a behemoth and limited to playing marginal role in a society still dominated by social groups, public opinion, stronger government and powerful regulatory authorities (see figure 4 below).

Comparison of Sex Tourism and Related Turpitudes As found by the author and also by other independent studies (Davidson 1996), sex-related tourism and informal prostitution is not uncommon in Goa. A number of studies have also documented incidences of pedophilia in Goa and Kerala (Davidson 1996; ECPAT 2003; Urry 2007). Many so-called ayurvedic massage centres and health care facilities also operate thinly veiled sexual services (only in case of wellreputed star hotels in Goa, the sanctity of medicinal massages is maintained.). Ayurvedic massage centres are also common in Kerala and Tekkady, but close supervision by regulatory authorities like the police force and threats of deregistration make sure they stay clean and massages are strictly for health-benefits. Request for pleasure massages in Kerala are frowned upon and invites disapproving looks from the attendants. Attendants are very clear about using only male masseurs for males and females masseuses for lady customers. Requests for cross gender massages, (in most cases) were firmly discouraged and rejected. Duration of Stay and Quality of Friendly Interactions One reason for high prevalence of informal prostitution by taxi-drivers, room-boys and others is the type and quality of interactions with tourists, especially foreign tourists. Since Keralas religio-cultural roots are rather well entrenched and tourist arrivals are a substantially smaller fraction of its overall population, the interaction of locals with the tourists are friendly, yet largely without compromising their native cultural values. Another reason for this perfunctory friendliness in Kerala could be the fact that although statistically the average foreign tourist stays for around 7-14 days in both Kerala and Goa (Coco Planet Tour Company 2007; Mehra 2008), in Goa the stay is a settled and relaxed stay, mainly at one facility.
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Moreover the small size of Goa state enables them to visit different aspects of Goa and return back to their base by the evening. This continuous stay for around 14 days in case of a foreigner visiting Goa tends to create a stronger bond with the hotel staff. Contrariwise, the tourists sojourn in Kerala is often characterized by movements to different parts of Kerala to enjoy different aspects of the Kerala tourism experience. This doesnt provide enough time for deeper familiarity and interactions with the tourismenterprise staff of a single facility. Besides, the tourism-related employees (except probably in 5-star facilities) in Kerala often have only rudimentary knowledge of English and western etiquette. Although they exhibit friendliness, in most cases it remains more superficial and short-lived (See figure 5 and 6 for bonding models between tourism professionals and foreign tourists in Goa and Kerala). In case of Goa, since a larger segment of Goans are fluent in English, this lack of linguistic impediment helps forge a stronger bond. Another bonding factor could be the culture and religion. Although both Kerala and Goa have relatively high Christian populations, the routes of their conversion to Christianity have been different. Most Keralite Christians believe that their ancestors were converted to Christian faith in around 1st Century AD in an initiative by Thomas, one of the disciples of Christ himself (Isaac 2005; Embassy of India 2005; Answers.com 2008). Although the Portuguese did invade Kerala around the 15th century, this bout of proselytization is not considered significant. On the other hand, Christianity in Goa is of more recent origin with the Portuguese invasion and crusades in the 15th and 16th centuries. The route of this conversion had a significant impact on the cultural mores of the society. While Christians in Goa have a significant European influence in their pattern of living, the Kerala Christians assimilated lot of Indo-Dravidian traditions in their day-to-day living. These include wearing of Tali (a type of mangalsutra) instead of the wedding ring common among Goa, predominantly Indian dressing styles (saris and dhotis) and also Indian cuisine. The Goan Christians on the other hand, often have distinctly western dressing styles and Portuguese influence on cuisine, leisure, living styles and social and cultural interactions. This tends to create a slightly stronger cultural consonance between the western tourist and the Goan tourism-enterprise employee, which is absent in most other parts of India.

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Changes in Native Culture and Commercialism Since an average Goan tourism-related employee interacts with large number of foreign tourists in an year, some adaptations and shifts in his own value systems, attitudes and beliefs may take place. In Goa, many of the back-packers and hippie tourists often take up lower-priced accommodations and stay on for longer durations of one or two months, enjoying the beach, the Goan cuisine and the warmer weather, mixing with the locals and thus making more durable relationships with the locals in Goa. (Many foreigners have also brought properties in Goa, to the extent of prompting the government to enact legislations and come down heavily on such purchases (Propertywala.com 2007; The Hindu 2007).) These durable relationships also create a deeper inter-mixing of cultures, with the foreigners passing on some of their cultural influences to the Goans while also assimilating some of the Goan cultural influences in their personality. Kerala has been able to protect its cultural ethos to a large extent from such adaptations. For instance, the culture of monetary avidity and crass commercialism which has overtaken many coastal villages in Goa, turning almost each house into a tourism-related business, is yet to fully manifest itself in the tourist zones of Kerala. Prevalence of Alternative Tourism Models Many parts of Kerala including Tekkady has also put in place a spice-garden model of environmentally sustainable tourism. In an interesting model which could possibly contribute to ecologically sustainable tourism, foreign tourists are taken to well-maintained organic farms and spice gardens where different spice plantations like ginger, cardamom, areca nut and other exotic spice plants are shown to tourists. A guide generally explains the detailed aspects of the spice plant including its health benefits, growth, history etc. The sizes of spice garden ranges from 2 acres to 12 acres, and in most cases are privately owned. Similar kind of organic farms are also there in Goa, but this kind of tourism is not given the importance that it deserves in Goa and few people seem to know about it. Other parts of Kerala have made significant presence in the segment of adventure tourism, trekking, wildlife and jungle tourism. Goa has tried to make a presence in wild-life tourism with a National park in
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Bondla wildlife sanctuary in the border of Goa, but tourists visiting Bondla continue to be minimal. Similarly Dudhsagar falls near the Goa-Karnataka border and Mayem lake in Northern Goa has failed to kindle interest in substantial foreign tourists towards non-beach related nature tourism. Conclusions While both Kerala and Goa have lots of similarities like cuisine, high Christian populations, coastal weather and large coastlines, their cultures also have differences which endear many western tourists and attract them to Goa. Duration of their stay, the ratio of tourists to local population and strict regulatory presence make it difficult for foreign tourists to disseminate their cultural influences in Kerala, thus making their tourism ventures more culturally sustainable. A pictorial representation of an ambience where tourism ventures prosper under strict supervision by government, social groups and officials as against the Goan scenario where various components of the private tourism economy exhibit a stranglehold on government and local community is depicted. The tourism strategy in Kerala has been multi-pronged and promotion of tourism is based largely on non-sensual imagery. The tagline Gods own country has been used to paint and convey a picture of unparalleled natural beauty, harmonious environment-friendliness and (also implicitly by invoking the word God) moral rectitude. Tekkady in particular has used very environmentally beneficial spice garden andorganic farm tourism to captivate tourists. The culture of crass commercialization is yet to assume diabolic proportions in the coastal villages of Kerala, as compared to some coastal areas in Goa. Given these factors, the Kerala model of tourism seems to be more culturally sustainable and less in conflict with the long-term cultural survival of their native population. An easy comparison between the Kerala model and Goa model is given in Table 1 (below). Limitations of the study and pointers for further research The major drawback of this study could be its observational and qualitative nature. However, further research could be undertaken to give a quantitative, skeletal and empirical frame-work to this largely observational, intuitional and qualitative work. The assumption that Tekkady is representative of Keralas tourism philosophy could, on closer scrutiny, turn out to be more cavalier than meticulous, if one considers the argument that each type of tourism viz. beach tourism, wild-life tourism, natural health tourism and adventure tourism, tend to generate their own overarching ground realities. The peculiarities and operational aspects of each of these types of tourist ventures in Kerala could be a significant area for further research. The reasons for failures of many alternative tourism models in Goa also need to be investigated. Although this paper deals with the social and cultural effects of tourism and pointers to building culturally sustainable models, it may have been important to integrate the environmental and economic issues into the whole discourse, considering that the interaction of local communities is more holistic rather than fragmented. Very often this compartmentalization of social, cultural, environmental and economic perspectives is meant for academic and intellectual feasibility rather than a reflection of the ground reality. However, knowing well that an in-depth analysis of environmental and economic aspects is beyond the scope of this paper due to time and space constraints, further comparative research into these issues in Kerala and Goa could lead to more powerful insights.

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