Equitable Tourism Options

Equitable Tourism Options, commonly known as EQUATIONS, was an India-based research, campaign and advocacy organisation concerned with how tourism affects local communities, ecosystems, livelihoods and democratic decision-making. Founded in 1985 and operating from Bangalore, the organisation worked to promote forms of tourism that it described as non-exploitative, equitable and sustainable rather than treating tourism growth as an unquestioned public good. EQUATIONS did not operate primarily as a conventional travel company, tour operator or online booking platform. Its work centred on producing research, building public awareness, supporting community struggles, connecting grassroots organisations with activists and researchers, and advocating changes to tourism law and policy. The organisation examined tourism through the experiences of communities whose land, coastal areas, forests, cultural resources and livelihoods could be affected by resorts, infrastructure projects, conservation initiatives or changing trade and investment rules. Its agenda covered several connected areas. In relation to children and tourism, EQUATIONS worked with ECPAT International and promoted stronger social accountability, child-protection measures and gender-sensitive guidance for governments and tourism stakeholders. In economic policy, it analysed the consequences of globalisation, international trade and investment policy for tourism development and local communities, an area in which it had been active since the early 1990s. Its environmental and community work considered the relationship between tourism, ecosystems and natural-resource-based livelihoods, arguing that tourism should respect community rights and environmental justice. The organisation also monitored governance arrangements, legislation and public policy. It raised concerns about tourism expansion that bypassed local self-government or weakened community control over common resources. Its advocacy sought decentralised decision-making and a meaningful role for affected people in determining whether, how and where tourism should proceed. Work on women and tourism addressed women’s access to, control over and ownership of livelihoods and natural resources, as well as their share of tourism’s benefits. EQUATIONS additionally engaged students, academics and tourism institutions in critical tourism education, research and internships. Campaigns and publications addressed coastal regulation, island ecosystems, mega-resorts, rural tourism, conservation claims, tourism-related displacement, child exploitation and the effects of major events and development projects. The organisation’s advocacy often combined field-based research with public campaigns directed at ministries, local authorities, the tourism industry, media and civil-society networks. One documented intervention concerning illegal reclamation of backwaters and Pokkali fields in Kumbalangi, Kerala, contributed to the cancellation of building permits for resorts in the village. EQUATIONS articulated a vision of a just society in which people have the freedom and right to determine their own lives and futures. Within tourism, that vision meant democratising decisions and distributing access to tourism’s benefits more fairly. Public reference material identifies the organisation as having worked in India, but does not establish its current operating status, leadership, ownership or financial structure.

Equitable Tourism Options, known as EQUATIONS, was founded in India in 1985 as an organisation examining the effects of tourism on people, communities and the environment. Based in Bangalore, it developed an approach that treated tourism as a political, social and ecological issue rather than simply an economic activity or a mechanism for attracting visitors and investment. From the early 1990s, EQUATIONS studied the relationship between tourism development and globalisation, trade and investment policy. It assessed how international economic frameworks and public development decisions could influence tourism expansion and distribute costs and benefits among communities. Its research relied on connections with grassroots organisations, local residents, activists, researchers, unions and other experts, allowing the organisation to combine policy analysis with accounts of conditions at destinations. A major part of its work concerned ecosystems, communities and tourism. EQUATIONS questioned development projects that threatened coastal areas, forests, agricultural systems, water resources or customary livelihoods. It argued that environmental sustainability could not be separated from community rights, local control and the ability of people dependent on natural resources to participate in decisions. This perspective informed its campaigns against mega-resorts, inappropriate coastal development and tourism projects in sensitive island and mountain regions. The organisation also developed a governance and law programme. It monitored legislation and administrative decisions and challenged tourism expansion that it considered unregulated or inconsistent with local self-government. Its advocacy engaged ministries, government departments, local institutions, media, tourism businesses and civil-society groups. The stated objective was to ensure that people affected by tourism could influence planning and implementation and retain meaningful authority over land, livelihoods, natural resources and commons. Women and tourism formed another strand of the organisation’s work. EQUATIONS examined whether women could obtain greater access to and control over tourism-related livelihoods and natural resources, and whether tourism’s benefits were reaching women fairly. It also treated education as an important route to changing tourism practice, working with students, academics and tourism institutions to introduce critical perspectives on tourism impacts and to encourage research and internships. Child protection was addressed through EQUATIONS’ formal membership of ECPAT International and collaboration on preventing the sexual exploitation and trafficking of children in tourism. Its objectives included encouraging responsibility among tourism actors, promoting coordinated action and pressing governments to adopt child-friendly and gender-sensitive measures. During the late 2000s and 2010, the organisation published or circulated work on rural tourism, nature-based tourism, coastal regulation, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa, Kerala, the Himalayan Ski Village proposal, tourism and the Commonwealth Games, tourism-related displacement, the right to information and child sexual exploitation at pilgrimage destinations. Its campaigns included a call for a moratorium on mega-resorts in 2009 and several coastal and island-protection interventions in 2010. In Kumbalangi, Kerala, its engagement with concerns over illegal reclamation and resort construction was linked in reference material to the cancellation of resort building permits. EQUATIONS’ public vision was of a just and equitable society in which people could determine their own futures. In tourism, this translated into non-exploitative development, democratic decision-making and a fair distribution of tourism’s access and benefits. Available reference material describes its historical activities and Bangalore base but does not confirm its current status, current leadership, ownership or successor organisation.

• 2010

  Coastal and island tourism campaigns

  [1]Equitable Tourism Optionsen.wikipedia.org

  EQUATIONS published campaigns concerning coastal development, Kerala tourism legislation and the proposed Islands Protection Zone notification.

• 2009

  Campaign against mega-resorts

  [1]Equitable Tourism Optionsen.wikipedia.org

  The Zones of Contestation campaign called for a moratorium on mega-resorts and greater protection for land, natural resources and community interests.

• 2008

  Publication programme covered child protection, conservation and displacement

  [1]Equitable Tourism Optionsen.wikipedia.org

  EQUATIONS released or listed research on child exploitation, tourism in the Andamans, conservation, rural tourism, rights to information, infrastructure and displacement.

• 1990

  Expanded focus on globalisation and tourism policy

  [1]Equitable Tourism Optionsen.wikipedia.org

  From the early 1990s, the organisation engaged with globalisation, trade and investment policy and their implications for tourism and local communities.

• 1985

  Organisation founded

  [1]Equitable Tourism Optionsen.wikipedia.org

  Equitable Tourism Options, later widely known as EQUATIONS, was established in India to research and advocate on the effects of tourism.

A rights-based Indian tourism research and advocacy organisation challenging tourism development that is exploitative, environmentally damaging, socially exclusionary or insufficiently accountable to local communities.

• Research and publications

  Tourism research reports

  EQUATIONS produced analytical reports and dossiers on tourism’s social, economic, cultural and environmental effects. Topics included rural and nature-based tourism, coastal regulation, island ecosystems, tourism and globalisation, community engagement, tourism-related displacement and the effects of major projects. The publications were intended to inform communities, civil-society groups, researchers, public officials and policy debates rather than to sell tourism services.

• Advocacy

  Campaign and advocacy programmes

  The organisation initiated and supported campaigns opposing tourism development it considered unjust, undemocratic or unsustainable. Its advocacy addressed coastal and island protection, mega-resorts, local self-government, community rights and the regulation of tourism projects. Campaigns connected field evidence with public communication and representations to government bodies, media, industry and civil-society networks.

• Education and capacity building

  Tourism education and networking

  EQUATIONS worked with students, academics and tourism institutions to encourage critical study of tourism impacts. It welcomed research and interns and promoted the integration of community rights, environmental concerns and social accountability into tourism education and professional discussion.

• 2010Tourism: Leave Our Coasts Alone!

  India

  A World Tourism Day campaign questioning the assumption that tourism and biodiversity automatically reinforce one another and documenting harmful coastal tourism development.

  Source
• 2010Scrap the Islands Protection Zone Notification

  India

  The campaign opposed the proposed Islands Protection Zone notification and called for stronger Coastal Regulation Zone rules and better protection for fragile island environments and communities.

  Source
• 2010Kerala Tourism Conservation and Preservation Act advocacy

  India

  EQUATIONS raised objections to proposed amendments to Kerala’s tourism conservation law, arguing that the changes could undermine local self-governing institutions.

  Source
• 2009Zones of Contestation

  India

  This initiative called for a moratorium on mega-resorts and advocated protecting land and natural resources for the benefit of local communities.

  Source
• Kumbalangi backwaters and Pokkali fields advocacy

  India

  EQUATIONS took up concerns about illegal reclamation and resort construction in Kumbalangi village, Kerala.

  Outcome. Reference material states that building permits for resorts in Kumbalangi were cancelled following the issue being taken up.

  Source

1. 1Equitable Tourism Optionsen.wikipedia.org