Community Tourism – Aiming at Mindful Travel post COVID19
Life does not always happen according to plans or deadlines we have set for ourselves. Travel blogging and content creation was never a part of my plan, but it happened late in my 20’s. This delved my interest in community tourism. Little did I have the nerve to travel alone, let alone venturing out of my comfort – trekking high altitude mountains, jumping into the sea without knowing how to swim (with the life jacket on), taking a dip in Holy Ganges in the month of December while river rafting or travel solo outside of the country.
Since 2016, there is no turning back and I fought all the odds to travel to remote corners of North-East India and document stories – of places, people, and community. If things worked according to plans – 2020 was supposed to be my go-to year. I already had half of my year sorted in terms of travel and financing. But the global pandemic and scare an invisible spike filled virus – COVID19 has created, the havoc shall continue for months, even more.
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Today, stuck in my apartment – I feel a little anxious. The skies are blue, planet is healing, pollution has reduced and that is when I remind myself – “We are all in this together”
Someday, when all of this will be over – This is how I mean to travel, making an impact on the community and creating stories to inspire.
Table of Contents
Remote Slow Travel to Indulge in Community Tourism
Touristic places never attracted me! It is the untouched remote locations the soul lies in. Honestly, I did try to squeeze in a lot of things so far during my travel. Even after having travelled to some remote locations across India, I feel I was not able to connect at deeper level. Perhaps, I did not know the bliss of slow travel. Once the pandemic is over, I will look forward for slow travel to remote locations. Perhaps, I would slow down till I am able to connect with the soul of a place before moving to the next. This means – living with the locals, understanding their culture by experiencing it and listening to stories.
Know more about life on Loktak Lake and local fishermen
Connect with the Community and Create Sustainability
Community tourism is the way forward to travel with a purpose. By connecting with the locals and promoting sustainable tourism, it helps in strengthening the community. It helps in creating a positive impact to the environment and increases awareness. Going forward, I aim at travel sustainably with more use of local transport, use of local services and purchasing eco-friendly products. By joining hands with the community, sustainable tourism can be promoted. Even a small step leads to bigger success.
Create better Livelihood through Community Tourism
Post COVID19, in a distant future, tourism will slowly open its gate. It might take months or years, but it will eventually happen. Reflecting on the small businesses associated with tourism, they would need help from travelers to rise again. I have always wanted to travel with a purpose and helping people create a livelihood is one of them.
- Stay at homestays (which I most of the times do) to help the locals with their livelihood.
- Purchase local products handcrafted by the people to celebrate their art.
- The local tour guides have suffered a major hit. With remote locations, I aim to hire a local guide to know the place more and benefit the person in terms of income.
- Educate people about how they can start their homestays and earn livelihood
- Learn about organic farming and how it can be a booster in promoting agritourism
- Volunteer at a remotely located school or help them with their essentials to establish
Till the pandemic prevails, I am trying to learn more about connecting ways eco-tourism and vocational skills can boost tourism.
Read – Local of Longwa Village are creating livelihood through traditional artifacts
Create Stories that Inspire and leave an Impact
Looking back at my blogging journey, I realize I have not been creating much of meaningful content. There are plenty of guides and what to do information. However, post the lockdown and COVID19 situation, I would focus more on creating content that touch hearts. Although there would be guides and informative blogs but also stories from different places. Rather than simply visiting a place, it would be more of creating meaningful connections and know people at humanity level. It would be more about redefining my way of travelling, more with the intention to learn new things.
Collaborate with Organizations aiming at Community Tourism
Mostly I collaborate with regional companies to explore untouched parts of North East. Once the COVID19 crisis is over, I would continue doing the same. With my interest in remote and local travel, I want to explore with companies that show you the country at grassroot level. Throughout the lockdown, I have come across couple of small companies I would like to explore and travel with. Even if it is not a collaboration, I would not mind spending the money on mindful travel.
Read the story on Umswai Valley and Rural tourism
Read More, Document in a Travel Journal
The more we read, the more we expand the vastness of our knowledge. After reading “The Glass Palace” by Amitav Ghosh, I am in awe of Myanmar and have this uncanny desire to visit the country. The more I read about tribes and culture of Nagaland, it makes me want to step into the realm of unknown. I have been reading about Central Asia a lot lately. Going forward, I have been reading lately – books, blogs, and about different places in India, less explored and full of stories. I will continue to read but document more in my travel journal, reviving old school ways.
Take Pictures That Add a Meaning
I am utilizing the COVID19 lockdown to learn more about capturing pictures that depict a story. Storytelling is something that comes to me naturally. But, at times I am not able to connect a picture to a story. Going forward, once the crisis is over, I plan to use photography as a mean to tell a story. It may be about the place or the history or information about culture, tribe, or practices. This will help me connect with people better as well as help in giving a realistic picture of travel. The nuances of human life framed in a picture takes back to memories – untouched, preserved through time.
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So, what does the future of travel blog look like? There is no certainty but a hope – someday all of this is going to be fine. The borders will be opened, transport will resume, travel will supposedly be more mindful.
