The Responsible Tourism Society of India (RTSOI) and the Ministry of Tourism will extend their collaboration through a renewed partnership, focusing on a national campaign to promote responsible travel and revive the inactive National Sustainable Tourism Board.
Mandip Singh Soin, RTSOI’s founding president, stated that the immediate priority is launching a national Responsible Traveller campaign with Ministry support. The initiative will reuse post-COVID video content featuring Bollywood stars, industry leaders, and musicians to raise awareness. These videos will be shared through government and industry social media channels, with RTSOI expanding outreach into regional Indian languages beyond English and Hindi.
Beyond awareness efforts, RTSOI aims to integrate responsible travel guidelines into every stage of a traveler’s journey—from hotel check-ins and airline bookings to online travel agency platforms and tour operator websites. The strategy ensures travelers encounter these guidelines repeatedly before and during trips, rather than relying on isolated campaigns.
Embedding Responsible Tourism in Industry Bodies
RTSOI will also seek formal representation within major tourism associations, including those for hotels, restaurants, tour operators, travel agents, and airlines. The goal is to embed responsible tourism as a consistent agenda item within these bodies, potentially through honorary memberships.
Soin noted the board was launched three or four years ago but became inactive, and RTSOI has urged the Ministry to restart regular sessions to address field-level challenges and implement solutions. “We requested that it be revived and that we have regular, continuing meetings so that we can bring up all issues and suggestions and really take some action on the ground,” Soin said.
A key output will be a booklet of 100 responsible tourism best practices from across India, replacing generic sustainability guides with actionable, replicable examples. These will include hotel-level water conservation programs and wildlife lodge conservation efforts. RTSOI President Rakesh Mathur will lead a committee to compile these case studies, drawing on members’ experiences and external successful initiatives.
Model Destinations and Overcrowding Risks
Destination management will be another focus, with RTSOI exploring a partnership with a state government to create a model destination for studying tourism capacity and pressures. Odisha’s Satapada-Chilika region is under consideration, with plans to assemble a multidisciplinary expert team. Funding could come from the Ministry or the state.
Soin highlighted urgent concerns about overcrowding in destinations like the Himalayas. “We’ve already got so many Himalayan destinations that are getting a bit overcrowded,” he said. Ladakh is already showing signs of the pressures associated with rapid tourism growth, including concerns around waste, landfills and water stress for local communities. He stressed that carrying-capacity assessments must be integrated into destination planning before tourism development harms the attractions themselves.
Tech-Driven Accountability for Tourist Misconduct
The organization also advocates for state tourism plans to allocate budgets to sustainable tourism, building on its work in Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya. RTSOI has criticized sustainability being treated as an afterthought, citing examples where ecosystems are at risk.
A technology-enabled reporting system will monitor irresponsible behavior in tourist hotspots. RTSOI is collaborating with the Incredible India platform to develop an app or feature allowing travelers to submit real-time reports, with photos and GPS coordinates, of violations like littering, wildlife disturbances, or infrastructure damage in national parks. While the Ministry has not confirmed funding, the system aims to create accountability by documenting misconduct.