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Conflict between residents and tourists: The rise of houseboat tourism: Alleppey’s dirty waters

Conflict between residents and tourists: The rise of houseboat tourism: Alleppey’s dirty waters
Author: Natalie Bruce
2 Commentries
Abstract: The aim of this discussion is to identify the environmental and social impacts that Kerala faces, due to increasing amount of houseboats in the region. As a result, this has caused conflict between local residents and tourists.

Key words: houseboats, sustainability, Kerala, local community

Kerala is one of the many states in India that attracts high volumes of tourists each year. It has also become increasingly more popular due to its unique features such as its scenery and lakes. Kerala has increased international tourism by 8.28% and domestic visitors by 7.21% in 2012. As a result, the states revenue increased through tourism expenditures and created over 2,000 jobs in Kerala (Bhubaneswar, 2013). One of Kerala’s key selling points has been their houseboat used to sail the backwaters for the height of relaxation; however, it has caused many negative impacts on the local community, many of which can be avoided through implementing sustainability.

Kettuvallam is a traditional thatched boat that is widely used in Kerala. These boats have been traditionally used for local transportation, transferring materials and shipping goods such as rice and spices between ports. In the past, Kettuvallam’s were used for practicality and also a main mode of transport as boats could access remote areas of Kerala’s backwaters. However, the uses of Kettuvallam’s have now changed, as it has become a popular tourist transport to explore the backwaters and it is also mainly used to promote Kerala as a tourist destination. Some of the Kettuvallam’s has been transformed into houseboats, which are described as luxurious floating cottages that attract millions of tourists each year. Moreover, although the Kettuvallam’s look luxurious for tourists and may give the impression of wealth, but many locals in the state of Kerala has been living under the poverty line and has also suffered from the negative impacts of houseboat tourism.
Currently, there are over 2000 houseboats in Kerala accommodating mass amount of tourists each year, which overcrowds the backwaters and draws unwanted attention to the local community. Since most of Kerala’s residential areas are alongside the lakes, local’s privacy and culture are continuously being invaded, as houseboats tend to sail near private houses and even overlooking them (Tourism Concern, 2014). Sometimes, the villages in Kerala are sensationalized for how the community lives (e.g. locals washing clothes on the banks) and the uniqueness of their customs and traditions. Tourists that tours on these houseboats often take pictures of local people by their houses, which not only invade privacy, it also shows a lack of respect. Some communities in Kerala are poor and when luxurious houseboats float by with tourists taking pictures of communities it sometimes causes a sense of resentment
Furthermore, the greatest impact of houseboats would be on the environment as they have reduced the water quality in the region by polluting it with sewage wastage and kerosene from the electricity generators on board. On average houseboats discharge 230,160 liters of waste into the Vembanad Lake on a daily basis, not including wastage dumping in other areas of Kerala. The marine life in the lakes has deteriorated from pollution and locals refrain from fishing in certain areas, as kerosene can be tasted in the fish.
The District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC), the operator of the sewage treatment plant in Kerala was put in place by the government for sustainable elimination of houseboat waste. However, (The New Indian Express, 2014) newspaper article stated only 100 out of 1000 houseboats operating in Alleppey had used the waste plant to treat waste and many other houseboat operators are using their own treatment plants but many others are still dumping waste into the water.
The local community uses the backwaters for daily living such as drinking, fishing, cooking and agriculture. However, the worrying factor is that less than half of the locals in Kerala actually treat the water before consumption as clean water is scarce, which forces them to depend on untreated water and as a result, locals have been getting infected with waterborne illnesses such as hepatitis A, typhoid and acute diarrhea.
Furthermore, there are positive and negative impacts, which the community faces with tourism within the Kerala region. As highlighted, even though houseboats create many benefits, the negative impacts out way the positives. It is very possible for Kerala to continue to host tourism and promote it as a tourist destination. However, reinforcing sustainable practices in the area is highly needed for the future of the community, as locals are the livelihood of any tourist destination. This can also minimize tourism conflict along the waters, as it will be a pleasurable experience for both parties. Brebbia, Favro and Pineda (2014) stated that sustainable tourism is not a type of tourism, but it is a concept, which includes different forms of tourism such as eco-tourism, soft tourism and responsible tourism. Sustainable tourism is defined as the goal that must be achieved in any form of tourism, which could help to minimize Kerala’s negative impacts of houseboat tourism.


References
Brebbia, C., Favro, S. and Pineda, F. (2014) Sustainable tourism VI. Southhampton: WIT Press.

Concern, T. (2012) Save Alleppey Backwaters |. Tourismconcern.org.uk, [online]. [Accessed 24 March 2015]. Available at: <http://tourismconcern.org.uk/save-alleppey/>.

The Guardian, (2009) Why Kerala needs eco-tourism. [online]. [Accessed 1 May 2015]. Available at: <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/may/06/india-kerala>.
Conflict between Residents and Tourists: The Rise of Houseboat Tourism: Alleppey's Dirty Waters
Author: Tawanda Mabhumbo
The topic of the above discussion paper is what drew my attention to write a commentary on this paper. On a personal level, I found both the topic itself and how the writer puts forward the points for her discussion paper interesting, which helped in bringing the discussion to life.

The insightful response identifies and thoroughly examines the environmental and social impacts Kerala faces from various angles and the factors involved by clearly establishing the pros and cons which have been fuelled by houseboat tourism. The writer’s use of examples to support her discussion is very good as it serves to illustrate where the tension between residents and tourists is emanating from. For example, a brief background of Kerala was given and statistics of the rise in international and domestic tourism highlighted. Doing so, helps readers to understand the problem statement for this discussion paper. The local residents of Kerala have always depended on the backwaters which they see as a source for various provisions such as; consumption, trade, transportation, to name but a few, hence the reason increased tourism has proven to be problematic for some local residents (Tourism Concern, 2015).

The writer also gave a recommendation on how the negative impacts caused by houseboat tourism can be alleviated if this type of tourism is to continue in Kerala, by mentioning the need to reinforce sustainability practices. This would be good practice considering the fact that sustainable development is now being weighed up by many countries and organizations as they seek ways to cut their carbon foot print and protect the environment (Sustainable Environment, 2015). However, the writer falls short of citing any examples of the sustainable practices which would help alleviate the problems caused by houseboat tourism.

Nonetheless, the writer could also have elaborate further her discussion by highlighting the reason why this problem appears to be ongoing, by touching on issues such as unregulated tourism expansion (Tourism Concern, 2015) which is likely to be the catalyst for the soaring houseboat tourism and the conflicts thereof. Also there were a few minor grammatical errors; on the last sentence on paragraph two and paragraph three.

Overall, a very good discussion paper, the writer’s careful organisation ensures that each new point builds upon the previous ones thus making the discussion easy to follow and free flowing. An interesting discussion or topic which encourages the reader to not only engage with the discussion but to ponder on the issues which have been deliberated whether positive or negative.

Reference List

• Sustainable Environment (2015) Action> Agenda 21. [Online] Available at: <http://www.sustainable-environment.org.uk/Action/Agenda_21.php> [Accessed on 22 January 2015]
• Tourism Concern (2015) Tourism Concern Action for Ethical Tourism. [Online] Available at: <http://tourismconcern.org.uk/save-alleppey/> [Accessed on 12 May 2012]

Conflict between residents and tourists: The rise of houseboat tourism: Alleppey’s dirty waters
Author: Melissa Afumba
This Discussion paper was chosen because it relates to a research I have previously conducted as well as a subject of interest. The author of this paper clearly outline the issues and give a good comprehensive explanation of the conflicts between conflict caused by the increase number of tourists and the local community of ‘Kerala’. The paper continues to highlight some positive aspects of the introduction of tourism through the creation of jobs, and promoting it as a tourist destination. Yet, still use facts and figures to argue that local communities are under threats and does not benefit environmentally from such change. It is interesting to read this research as it gives you a clear direction whilst touching different aspects on the extent to which the development of tourism affects local communities.
Local communities are losing their wealth's, values and respects. The boat they preserved and considered as a cultural assets is now used as a tourist’s transportation for exploring the backwaters. The water used by locals to conduct daily duties like washing clothes, bathing, and cooking is now polluted. This paragraphs shows that the writer is in control of the discussion and is able to clearly elaborate point raised. (Robison, 1999) Cuba experience sea pollution due to speed boats activities conducted by tourists; beach erosion due to peoples feet. Similarly ‘Matchu Picchu’ generated thousands of visitors tourist’s feet pressure eroded the attraction. (Robison 1999)

The popularity of this topic and the fact that several destinations suffers from inbound mass numbers of tourists with different purposes, demonstrates signs of development in tourism industry. The author declares that it resulted in an increase in the revenue through the creation of 2000 jobs in the state. Similarly my paper discuss how the increase in the number of tourists in the Kenya created jobs for local communities. In similar context, the city of ‘Cuba’ In America confirms that in 2010, 2.5 million visitors arrives In Cuba, creating 2000 jobs for local communities. (Mintel 2010). This shows obvious signs that the development of tourism is globally impacting destinations, the government of each destinations only focuses on positivity; financial statistics and ignore how this environmentally and culturally affects local communities lives. Therefore, the author of this paper aims to broadly expand the reader’s awareness and made them discover the hidden truth.
Throughout the discussion, the author argues in relation to the paper aims and objectives which prevents the reader from going off tracks. Instead keep them focused and motivated to carryon reading. I believe I have made the right choice by selecting this paper, not necessarily because the title caught my attention and it is an area of interest nevertheless because the author well-structured it, and was direct and used an appropriate grammar. Nonetheless an area of improvement, is that the writer could have use examples of other destinations where conflict occurred between tourists and local communities.

References
Matchu Pichu (undated) Themes in Leisure: Physical environmental impacts [online] Accessed [October 2013]. Available at: <http://wolf.wlv.ac.uk
 Mintel (2011) Travel and Tourism Cuba report. [Online].London: Mintel [Assessed November 2011]. Available at: http://academic.mintel.com.ezproxy.wlv.ac.uk/display/545373/

 Mintel (2010) Travel and Tourism Cuba report.[Online].London: Mintel [Assessed November 2010].Available at: http://academic.mintel.com.ezproxy.wlv.ac.uk/display/601468/?highlight#hit1