Help Tourism

The 2010 HSBC – TOFT Wildlife Tourism Awards are intended to:

• Highlight the important work being done by the tourism industry in support of tiger and forest conservation
• Increase awareness of responsible tourism as a force in conservation and habitat renewal
• Reward and encourage best practice operations
• Encourage sustainability in tourism enterprises
• Promote community enterprises and initiatives around Tiger Parks.

Judges comments:

Help Tourism is a fascinating ecotourism business, with both private and NGO aspirations. It supported community owned tourism lodges in many places including Manas National Park with the Bodo tribal leaders. Since 1992 their efforts have reaped rewards and now include such lodges and carefully constructed itineraries in Assam, North Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh. Furthermore they are a unique business, both lodge and tour operators, operating in the conservation and community space, in off the beaten track and more remote regions. This award would highlight their team’s excellent approach to private sector’s partnership with a dedicated mission, in its key destinations.

The Award sponsored by The Blue Yonder includes a prize of INR 25000 towards equipment/services for the benefit of the winning community.

“We are deeply grateful that the continuous conservation efforts of the communities of East Himalaya have been recognized. The Award will be an additional boost for the community tourism movement in Northeast India. Spiritually, and practically as it enables us to fund new conservation and community development activities”, said Asit Biswas, director of Help Tourism after the ceremony.

More information about the Award and the other winners on the TOFT website

TOFT, the Travel Operators for Tigers, is a ‘supply chain’ pressure campaign initiative aimed at a Global collective and inclusive Travel trade response to the tiger crisis in India, and by association, all the forests and wildlife being affected in the Indian subcontinent .

Objectives:

• To advocate and support better tourism practices in wilderness areas, with specific guidelines for operators, service and accommodation providers and visitors. Look out for the TOFT signs and PUG ratings.
• To empower local communities to become involved in wildlife tourism projects and initiate low impact and sustainable development which helps conserves the parks and benefits the communities through employmnet and business opportunities.
• To catalyse initiatives throughthe lodge communty that enhance wildlife conservation and community support, including waste and water management, trade cooperatives, local employment, fair wages and local enterprises and services.

On the afternoon of the 10th of February 2008, one of our groups was lucky enough to see a tiger swimming across the Khonakhali Creeks near Dobanki Watch Tower. Tanmoy Ghosh, our field guide, had his camera at hand.

A Tiger symbolizes unlimited power: Durga riding a Tiger indicates that she possesses unlimited power and uses it to protect virtue and destroy evil.’ Durga Ashtotram

‘Although they fear Tiger attacks, the people of Sunderbans have turned the Tiger into an object of veneration……. Montgomery concludes that Sunderbans has been protected by the Tigers who, watching over the mangrove wilderness, prevent humankind from destroying their own habitat.’ Howard Mansfield ‘Spell of the Tiger’.

‘Better to live one year as a Tiger, than a hundred as a sheep.’ Madonna

‘From the Oyster to the Eagle, from the Swine to the Tiger, all animals are to be found in men and each of them exists in some man, sometimes several at the same time. Animals are nothing but the portrayal of our virtues and vices made manifest to our eyes, the visible reflections of our souls. God displays them to us to give us food for thought.’ Victor Hugo

‘The living self has one purpose only: to come into its own fullness of being, as a tree comes into full blossom, or a bird into spring beauty, or a Tiger into luster.’ D. H. Lawrence