The travel and tourism industry is one of the world’s largest industries, contributing hugely to many nations economic health and development. It’s also powerful as a job creator, a nature conservation tool, as a community development tool and to help poverty reduction across the world. It has recognised cross cultural benefits, as well as, educational health and human well-being benefits.
Most agree that it’s helped ensure peace and stability amongst nations and towards neighbours. The travel and tourism sector accounts for 10% of the world’s GDP and 7% of its exports. It is responsible for one in 10 jobs globally and is the main source of foreign exchange in one-third of developing countries.
WHAT IS CERTIFICATION?
Our Eco – based Certification systems or ‘Kitemarks ‘, assures all travellers, their agents and operators, and all those involved in operating, planning or managing nature-based tourism, that certified providers have been thoroughly examined and have reached or exceeded a minimal standard of commitment to sustainable practices in providing eco-friendly nature-based tourism experiences, be they luxury lodges, family resorts, tented camps or simple homestays.
Our PUG and Footprint Certification Programme is the first and only system that has been specially developed to address the need to identify and encourage genuine environmentally focused or ecotourism based, accommodation providers in the Indian subcontinent.
The PUG certification is aimed solely at nature focused accommodation and lodge providers who seek to provide their visitors with a principally nature based travel experiences, and their operations have a very direct bearing on the nature destination itself, on its flora and fauna and with its neighbouring communities.
Contact us to know how you can gain certification
The Footprint certification is aimed at all accommodation and lodging providers whose client base is not wholly nature focused, but enjoying leisure, family or corporate time within any destination, be it in a natural, rural or an urban landscape.
Contact us to know how you can gain Footprint certification
TRAINING OPTIONS
As part of TOFT India commitment to support the integration of wildlife conservation with building sustainable tourism, ensuring destination management and land use planning and enhanced visitor experiences and guiding, so we have committed over the last fifteen years to a host of training programmes.
TOFT India runs a variety of training courses and workshops for both private, non-government and government sectors involved in lodge management, wildlife guiding, nature destination sustainability and sustainable tourism planning and provision in both protected and non-protected areas.
They can be sponsored by the Private Sector, funded directly by TOFT India, sponsored by travel businesses or as part of a Government supported training programme.
These have included for example:
Park Guide Training:
For Example: Over 40 of the best of Madhya Pradesh’s park guides, whose job is to show visitors around parks including Bandhavgarh, Kanha and Pench have been given up to two month’s intensive training on field guiding, visitor interpretation and nature education, through IIFM in Bhopal.
Park Drivers
For Example: Over 600 of Madhya Pradesh’s drivers, who drive visitors and VIP’s in all of Madhya Pradesh’s best-known parks, have been given an intensive two-day training course in 4×4 driving, interpretation and visitor interaction over the last couple of years.
Field Directors and Tourism authorities:
For Example: An intensive three-day workshop, attended by all the Field staff of 6 of Maharashtra Tiger reserves, together with 20 staff of the Maharashtra Tourism Board were trained in recognising and implementing sustainable tourism, to pass the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s Sustainable Tourism Awareness course.
For the Lodge Community
TOFT India runs a host of Lodging workshops to highlight and encourage Wilderness Lodging Best Practice. For example 25 of Corbett’s best known lodges and resorts participated in a ‘Best Practice’ workshop over a whole day, hosted by a lodge that is an Outstanding PUG certified lodge.
workshop over a whole day, hosted by a lodge that is an Outstanding PUG certified lodge.
For the Indian Travel Community
TOFT India runs a host of half day Training programmes to the DMC community, informing their management and staff on Best Practice in Travel and Tourism, and their role within it, conducted by our Management team.
Requests for training, training courses, sustainability-based workshops for the industry and for Governments continue to be run as needed, planned or requested.
As part of our commitment to educating the Travel Community and visitors with regards to nature travel and responsible tourism, our Training Staff are available for specific lectures, presentations and workshops.
JOIN US – AND HELP DRIVE SUSTAINABILITY
HERE’S WHY
Consumer awareness and demand for environmentally and socially responsible goods and services like travel and tourism are at an all-time high. Nature based or ecotourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in the market and forecast to grow as visitors increasingly seek authentic, experiential nature based experiences around the globe.
‘In an increasingly digitally-connected, work-centric, and material world, travellers are seeking opportunities to reconnect with nature, other people, and a sense of individual meaning. Both the Baby Boomer and Millennial generations have shown inclinations to pay a premium for authentic and meaningful travel.’ CREST Centre for Responsible Travel
According to an AIG Travel Survey conducted in 2016 which explores consumer perceptions of sustainable travel movement, a mere 4 percent of the industry is practicing some form of sustainability. Of those who want to travel sustainably, more than one third (35 per cent) found it difficult, and half didn’t know how to do it. TOFT India aims to change that.
If you are in the travel and tourism business working within or operating from outside the Indian subcontinent, you will have the opportunity to highlights your commitments and actions to sustainability by using and promoting our TOFT India logo, using our globally recognised Certification kitemark as a promotional or purchasing tool of renowned integrity, gaining both industry and consumer trust with your own commitments to your corporate sustainability efforts.
So now it’s your time to join TOFT India – and play your part in driving sustainability
