Responsible Travel in India: What you Need to Know
As news breaks that the number one tourist attraction in India is no longer the mighty Taj Mahal, but instead the slums of Dharavi, our minds filled with questions. India has long suffered from a tourism branding problem, and this latest news would seem to be symptomatic of that. Rather than being famous for its diversity, beautiful landscapes, wildlife and plethora of responsible tourism options, India instead has become famous overseas for its poverty, patriarchy and pollution. Which goes some way towards explaining why Foreign Tourists are more interested in seeing Asia’s Largest Slum than Shah Jahan’s eternal monument to love – and the many other things that India has to offer. As a sub-continent inhabited by more than a billion people, everything is true in India. To see the slums of Dharavi will give you one picture, but it will not help to understand every day life for most people in modern day India. Rather, it’s that the slums – made famous by Slu...