Powerful Photographic Exhibition Exposes the Impacts of Tourism on Tsunami-Affected Communities
Friday, 20 Feb, 2010
0
Destination Tsunami Stories and Struggles from India’s Southern Coast opens 23 February – 31 March 2010 at The Guardian Gallery, London
A powerful new exhibition by campaigning group Tourism Concern, Destination Tsunami tells the stories and conveys the hardships endured by Indian survivors of the 2004 tsunami as they now attempt to withstand the multiple pressures of rapid tourism development.
This includes the threat of displacement from their land, environmental degradation, loss of livelihoods and alienation from traditional ways of life. Despite massive flows of aid to the region, many families are still waiting for their tsunami-damaged homes to be rebuilt. Others endure cramped and undignified living conditions, while the funds that were meant to assist them are channeled instead into beachfront beautification schemes for tourists. Says Tourism Concern
Tricia Barnett of Tourism Concern said: “Five years on from the tsunami, many coastal communities in Southern India are still struggling to rebuild their lives. We need to ask where all the aid money donated by the British public went. Can the drive to develop coastlines for tourism in the name of economic growth justify the destruction of so many poor peoples’ lives and the undermining of their basic human rights?”
Says Tourism Concern: “Destination Tsunami also pays tribute to those resisting the developers and government policies that often promote tourism at their expense. It creates a unique space for the voices of Indian fishing and farming communities, activists, displaced families, the old and the young, the dispossessed and the defiant, to be heard by holidaymakers and the tourism industry in the UK.”
“Destination Tsunami poses challenging questions about who is paying the real cost of tourism development. We want this exhibition to raise awareness of the issues faced by local people and to challenge the UK Government and international development agencies of the urgent need to include tourism issues within their remits”, says Barnett.
Valere Tjolle
Valere Tjolle is editor of the 2010 Sustainable Tourism Report Suite details at:www.travelmole.com/stories/1141006.php
Valere
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025