The tourism industry in India seems to have discovered plantations as attractive tourist destinations, after taking the free independent traveller (FIT) through the beaches, historical monuments, backwaters, places of worship, wild life, water theme parks and heritage sites on offer in several countries.
It seems logical after eco-tourism to zero in on the breathtakingly beautiful, neatly laid out plantation farms on mist-covered hills - scenes straight out of movies!
Owners of tea, coffee, pepper, cardamom and vineyards located 500 to 3,000 metres above sea level, which were prone to the vagaries of commodity markets, are joining hands with the tourism professionals to promote `exotic' Plantation Tourism.
People behind the new script also had deep pockets.
The dreammakers of this niche industry claim thatit is all for sustainability of plantations, educative value and supporting the local community. No one would doubt their commitment.
Gul Mohammed, a farmer at a remote village in north Kerala’s Kasargod district, demonstrated how fishing can become a tourism theme by converting fishermen’s huts into ethnic home stays.
And at Rs 2,000-22,000 per cottage, it is aimed not at the economy segment but the premium. The novel industry has largely evolved out of innovative skills of entrepreneurs from hospitality and commodity business — with a bit of help from state governments in some places.
However, most of the award-winning ideas are the IPR of some select entrepreneurs. Properly regulated, commodity tourism can help both commodities and tourism sector.
But tourism is all about innovation and attraction. Many states are yet to identify its potential and some which have done are yet to showcase it.
India is an agrarian country and nothing sells more than greenery to the tourists already bored with in the middle of concrete jungles.
Most places of origin of traded commodities are tourist destinations but you need an innovative brain and an open hearted administration to develop this potential into a money spinner.