Tag Archives: CB Ramkumar

CB Ramkumar, Vice Chair, GSTC, said, “Despite India’s growing hospitality industry, only six Indian hotels are currently GSTC certified, compared to over 2,000 globally.” The disparity, he explains, lies in the lack of strong policy support in India. While the MOT can issue guidelines, implementation depends on individual states, he added.

CB Ramkumar, Vice Chair, GSTC, said, “After Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya and Madhya Pradesh are also showing interest in sustainability and we are actively conducting training and awareness programs with local tourism boards and officials. We have offered to work with these states to operationalise their policies, provide training.”

Highlighting Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh’s initiatives to promote sustainable tourism through the introduction of a 50 per cent subsidy on GSTC certification fees, CB Ramkumar, Vice Chair, GSTC, raised concerns about the practical challenges of these policies, pointing out that despite the announcement, ‘no fiscal allocations had been made to fund the subsidy, which leaves the policy lacking in execution.’

C.B. Ramkumar, Vice Chairman, Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), stressed on the need for an updated national framework for sustainable tourism in India. He said, “Sustainable Tourism Criteria for India (STCI), launched over a decade ago, is now outdated and no longer reflects the current global standards. The STCI document exists, but it is redundant. It is not applicable in the world we live in today.”

The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) will conduct a training programme on sustainable tourism in Delhi on April 27-28, 2018. The two-day interactive programme is designed for travel and tourism industry professionals interested in learning about sustainability best practices for businesses and destinations. The training covers tourism as a tool for sustainable development, sustainability best practices and the GSTC criteria for tourism sustainability, as well as key topics such as global trends in sustainable tourism, sustainability marketing, and sustainable tourism product development and management. Green Dreams for the Planet (GDP) is the training partner for India for GSTC. The training will be conducted by CB Ramkumar, Board Member of the GSTC and Chair of the Education & Training Working Group of the GSTC. He is also the Country Head for India and the Regional Representative for South Asia. Ramkumar says, “At the end of the training, a Certificate of Completion will be given to all who have completed the two-day training. This certificate will then make the participant eligible to earn the ‘GSTC Certificate in Sustainable Tourism’ after they take and pass the online examination. The exam fee is US$75 per person and participants will have to register separately for the exam.”