Responsible Tourism Expands its Footprint to Dharmadom

KANNUR:
The heritage preserving and ecologically sustainable Responsible Tourism (RT) of Kerala Tourism is all set to expand its footprint to the panoramic settings of Dharmadom in the district.

The RT activities in the area, which help attract tourists to the unspoilt rural stretches while bringing benefits to the local community, will be launched at a function here on February 23, followed by a one-day workshop on the project.

District Panchayat President K V Sumesh will inaugurate the project at a function to be held at Pinarayi Service Co-operative Bank Hall, at 10 am. Pinarayi Village Panchayat president C K Geethamma will preside over the inaugural ceremony. P Bala Kiran, Director Tourism, will welcome the gathering.

Geographically an islet, surrounded by Anjarakandy river on three sides and the Arabian Sea towards the west, Dharmadom has a history stretching back to thousands of years. Once known as Dharmapattanam, the area was believed to be a Buddhist centre in the past. The islet also has references in Jewish and Arab maritime trade records as well as the Portuguese, French and British documents of the colonial era.

Dharmadom and its surroundings are famous for folk arts like Theyyam and a variety of crafts and traditional occupations.

State RT Mission Co-ordinator K Rupesh Kumar will make a presentation on “Activities under Responsible Tourism in Kerala” at the workshop. Biji Xavier, Mission Co-ordinator, will lead a class on ‘online platforms’ and Sibin P Paul, district co-ordinator for RT, will brief the participants on the activities in Kannur district.

Over 1000 RT units have already been registered in different parts of the district, since the launch of the project an year ago.