Responsible tourism conclave held in Guwahati with aim to promote community leadership

Guwahati on March 14, saw the successful launch of the first-ever Green Hub- Royal Enfield Responsible Tourism Conclave. The aim of the Conclave was to promote responsible tourism and travel throughout the Northeastern states of India, through youth and community leadership, and to act as a platform for collaborations and partnerships that aim to promote responsible, sustainable, and conscious travel. The programme included the introduction and presentation of four specific responsible tourism business models designed for this region.

The current outreach of the Green Hub Project is 110 fellows from 44 communities, in 42 districts, in 8 Northeast States: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim. In 2021, Green Hub Central India was initiated for rural and community youth from 4 states in Central India.

Clean and Cool Chullyu, is a community-based waste-free, and agri-tourism model in Lower Subansiri, Arunachal Pradesh. Hebamlo, based in Peren, Nagaland looks to re-establish connections between the region's cultural heritage and nature. Gorgeous Gobuk explores the idea of a community-based nature-linked tourism model, in Upper Siang, Arunachal Pradesh. Wild and Pure Labukore, involves a community-based wildlife conservation model In Shi Yomi district Arunachal Pradesh. In addition to these innovative presentations that provided the opportunity for discussions on further collaboration and partnerships, there were music performances to enthrall the audience. There were also promotional videos, and exhibitions on local handicrafts, photographs, and artifacts, making the Conclave an immersive experience - both educative and entertaining.

The Responsible Travel Conclave is part of the Green Hub Royal Enfield Responsible Travel Fellowship, which is a new Green Hub initiative supported by Royal Enfield, as a part of Its social mission to work holistically towards the protection, regeneration, and resilience of ecosystems in the Iconic Himalayan landscape, and engage with communities to build resilience and adapt to the climatic and socio-economic changes that are taking place.

Initiated in 2022, the Fellowship was created with the vision of supporting responsible travel in Northeast India. The aim is to support youth in local communities to engage with their natural and cultural heritage and build on sustainable opportunities and livelihoods through responsible tourism in the region. The overarching aim is to build both socio-economic well-being and ecological security through youth and community ownership at the local level. The first batch has 17 fellows who are youth from 9 communities and 6 states; all interested in facilitating responsible Tourism.

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The 6-month Fellowship included training sessions and exposure trips under the guidance of livelihood and responsible tourism experts. The Fellows were then supported to build on four project sites as possible Responsible Tourism destinations. These were the four projects that were showcased at the inaugural Responsible Travel Conclave.

With the Northeastern states of India becoming a popular travel destination, the significance of conscious travel has increased manifold. The Green Hub-Royal Enfield Responsible Tourism Fellowship works to build perspective and equip community youth with the capacity and skills towards this.

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it aims to bring responsible tourism as a choice and an established practice across this region, through youth connect and leadership. The Conclave is an opportunity to celebrate this focus and invite collaborators to explore new destinations and partnerships in the region with the collective aim to build toward responsible tourism.

The Conclave is an effort to extend the scope of this effort by bringing together communities, government departments, travel agencies, and consultants, tour operators & aggregators, private stakeholders, NGOs, homestay partners, and other tourism-based institutions and enterprises to build on the practice of responsible tourism.

Royal Enfield supports the Green Hub Fellowship's vision to engage and empower youth in conservation education, collaboration, action, and sustainability, and create a digital resource bank for wildlife, environment, and Indigenous knowledge. Through this process, the aim is to initiate sustainable, alternate, and aspirational livelihoods and local entrepreneurship for youth and the community to help and sustainably build local economy and opportunities, with the conservation of natural resources and community wellbeing at the core of it.

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The Green Hub Project is the first youth and community-based Fellowship and video documentation centre related to wildlife, environment, climate resilience, indigenous knowledge, sustainability, gender, and social change in Northeast India. It was founded in 2014 by the founder of Dusty Foot. Rita Banerji, in collaboration with the North East Network (NEN), as the local partner. The project was the first of its kind in India that looked at engaging and empowering youth especially from remote areas and marginalized communities in conservation action and social change by using the visual medium.