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India’s tea gardens beckon tourists

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India, one of the top tea producers in the world, is experimenting with tea tourism in view of the growing interest shown by tourists to visit tea plantations and tea factories. Ambling through a sprawling tea plantation with greenery all around in the early hours of the day watching a group of local women plucking two leaves and a bud at a fast pace with their nimble hands and collecting them into baskets slung on their shoulders is a winning sight for tourists. India now leads to give tea-buffs and tourists a closer understanding of tea by organizing tea tourism at places like Assam, Darjeeling (West Bengal), Nilgiris belt in Tamil Nadu, and a few pockets in Kerala and Karnataka.

Tea tourism is defined as tourism that is motivated by an interest in the history, culture, traditions and consumption of tea. Estate bungalows amidst sweeping acres of manicured tea plantations have now been converted into tourist accommodations. Not just staying in the midst of tea gardens, tea tourists  are taken to a tea factory, where they get to experience how the fresh green leaves are brought into the tea factory for withering to the rolling, drying and shifting stages, grading and packaging and followed by  a tea-tasting session where they could sip some of the finest tea that is grown in that area.

A view of Tea plucking in a tea garden of Assam

Assam in the lead for tea tourism

The first name that crops up in mind for tea tourism is Assam, the largest tea producing region in India.  The Assam Tea Tourism Festival held at Jorhat every year is a big hit with tourists. Staying in a rustic  colonial-era planter’s bungalow has its own charm. Home to more than 800 tea estates in the state,  where amidst luxury and serenity one can drift back in time to days of that elegant colonial aristocracy.  The B & A Limited operates through seven quality Tea Estates in the India’s largest tea growing region of Assam. The Guwahati Tea Action Centre, one of the busiest tea trading facilities in the world, is a place not to be missed. Others  include Corramore Tea Estate, Teloijan Tea Estate and Khongea Tea Estate besides a host of others.

Another major development which is currently in progress is the tourist-friendly makeover of  world’s oldest and biggest tea research center at Tocklai (Assam), with edifices  that each have a story to tell. A.K. Barooah, director of the Tea Research Association, said recently that the Tocklai Guest House, a heritage building, was home to  British tea planters A tea museum will be built with suitable dioramas, models and displays. He said Tocklai can tie-up with other tea tourism enterprises like Kaziranga Golf Resort (Bura Sahib bungalow), Banyan Grove and Thengal Manor bungalow in Jorhat district, the Mancotta chang bungalow and Chowkidingee chang bungalow situated in the heart of Dibrugarh town.”

West Bengal is also fast catching up with Assam in promoting tea tourism. Its Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee last month mentioned that her government will consider tea tourism to benefit tea plantations in the state.

She said, “We have allocated more than Rs. 1,000 crore for the welfare of tea garden workers since 2011. Tea tourism is also under our consideration.”

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The WB state government permits one acre of tea estates to be used for tourism purposes. Currently there are 87 operational tea gardens in Darjeeling district covering an aggregated area of about 19,000 hectares under tea plantation. Darjeeling surrounded by tea orchards that produce the famous light-colored and aromatic Darjeeling Tea has the right ingredients for tea tourism. Makaibari Tea Estate and Homestay in Kurseong, 37 kms from Darjeeling, is one of the top tea producing gardens in the world. In the vicinity of  Darjeeling is the Happy valley Tea Estate, one of the highest tea gardens in the world. Raj-era estates located in some of the most scenic destinations in India — the rolling Himalayan foothills of Darjeeling and Dooars beckon tourists. Some famous estates include Glenburn Tea Estate, Sourenee Tea Estate, Singtom Tea Estate and Resort, Ambootia Tea Garden, Barnesbeg Tea Estate and  Castleton Tea Estate among others. Goodricke Group Ltd. is offering tourism opportunities in one of its tea estates in  Darjeeling where it has five gardens.

South India also catching up fast

Besides the Northeast belt, in south it is Tamil Nadu which is home to some of the largest tea-growing belts in the country. Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu is the largest tea producing district in South India, and its tea is  renowned for its aroma and flavor. With Tamil Nadu producing  65% of tea in South India spanning an area of 65,000 hectares, the Nilgiris area offers great scope for tea tourism. Valparai, a quaint hill station located about 100 km from Coimbatore, is teeming with tea plantations. Billimalai Tea Estate at Glendale, about 10 kilometers from Coonoor, is a perfect place to experience  how tea is processed.

Munnar in Kerala is rustic belle of hill stations where acres and acres of tea plantations feast one’s eyes. A visit to country’s first Tea Museum at Nallathanni Estate is highly recommended at it narrates the history of tea production in the region. The Kundala Tea Plantation in Munnar offers tourists the tea making process in great detail. Tea Sanctuary here is home to refurbished vintage colonial style bungalows amidst misty tea plantations. Considered the  highest altitude tea plantation in the world, Kolukkumalai, near Munnar, is known for  preserving the British heritage in tea-making at the factory here. Wayanad in Kalpatta district produces substantial amount of tea whose lush green tea gardens are a feast for the sore eyes. The Wayanad Tea County in the midst  of the picturesque  395 acre estate, many  vantage viewpoints, and trekking routes is a better option.

In Karnataka, Coorg, and  the Baba Budan Hills in Chickmagalur are tea-producing regions, but tea tourism is yet to catch here.

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African Tourism Board: The Human Right to Explore the Cape in the Eyes of Marriott

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Avukile Mabombo

The official launch of the African Tourism Board is only about two weeks away. On April 11 at 15.30 the Cape Town International Convention Centre Conference Theatre during World Travel Market Africa will be the venue where Africa becomes one tourist destination.

Cape Town is a good example where the Human Right to travel is so important. Avukile Mabombo, Group Marketing Manager, Protea Hotels by Marriott summarizes his love for Cape Town:

In a former age in South Africa, locals were boxed in, unable to explore their own country, limited to pockets of land within cities and rural areas. This, quite rightly, has changed, opening the curtain on a wealth of activities and experiences to be explored – a country for the people. There’s a rising interest among the black, middle class traveller to do just that. Of course, besides places of natural beauty, there are many places that preserve heritage, and it’s worthwhile checking them out.

From Robben Island to the Pass Office

Cape Town, as much as it seems to be a vibey holiday space, has just as much of a role in the country’s history. Fortunately, we’ve sought to redress the inequalities of the past and to turn them into opportunities for locals. We respect their sometimes-chilling place in memory, but we celebrate that we’re leaving that era back in the “dustbin of history”, to use a phrase once quoted by Leon Trotsky.

Robben Island: San Francisco, another global destination, may boast Alcatraz, the former prison, as a tourist attraction, but Robben Island’s place on our tourism itinerary is an iconic one for a different reason, being the place where Nelson Mandela, Robert Sobukwe, Kgalema Motlanthe, Neville Alexander, Mac Maharaj and Harry Gwala, as well as other political leaders were imprisoned, in addition to thousands of ordinary struggle foot soldiers. The rugged island dominating Table Bay is an essential one for heritage tourism. Just across the bay is the Breakwater Lodge in the heart of the V&A Waterfront, a former prison now operating as Protea Hotel in conjunction with the UCT Graduate School of Business, a reclaimed space within our city that’s engaging with the past by undergoing a renovation to place historic visuals and artifacts in display.

Back on land, it’s possible to visit many places that echo this historical journey. The Slave Lodge in Adderley Street, the Pass Office in Langa, the Amy Biehl Memorial in Gugulethu and other spots in Cape Town call for a meditative visit, perhaps a walking tour that allows for reflection.

Such neighborhoods themselves still remind us of the spacial disparities that existed then and that exist still, although innovative tourism entrepreneurs have spotted the opportunity to present a vibrant tourism offering in spite of those memories.

Giving the storytellers a voice

What makes the local tourism special is that you can speak to people now serving as tour guides for whom our heritage is their lived experience. They have first-hand accounts of what went on, who was involved and how we have managed to overcome as a society; their accounts are spine-chilling, relevant and meaningful, and it’s worth making the effort to chat to those storytellers whose oral histories echo our written ones.

Most importantly, reflecting on heritage as a part of the tourism experience enables us to hold a more balanced account of the future, acknowledging that the past is alive and that it has an impact on how we experience life in our growing metropolis. We don’t need to hide our heritage – in fact, we must shine a spotlight on it, even the shameful parts, so that we can tell our local and international visitors how we have grown, and just why we are optimistic that our spaces aren’t some kind of historical Chernobyl, Ukraine – a region closed off to the world following that catastrophic nuclear accident in the 80s. As catastrophic as our own history has been in many ways, we have learned how to adapt and appreciate our freedom, as well as the opportunity to tell those riveting stories and to keep our struggle heroes alive in memory.

Why not adventure into our heritage today? Your exploration translates into jobs for locals, economic benefits and transformation at its deepest roots.

For more information on African Tourism Board visit www.africantourismboard.com 

Travel News | eTurboNews

Aloha is not “Aloooooha”: Stop visitors from offending Hawaiians

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Do not say ALOHA or better ALOOOOOHA when visiting Hawaii.

“Those of you particularly in the tourist industry and in entertainment, stop saying “ALOOOOOOOHA”.  There is no such word and as the Hawaiian Queen said herself, they have stolen the country, and now they want to redo our language. Stop it. Just stop, It’s Aloha, not Alooooooha.”, said Adam Keawe Manalo- Camp, a native Hawaiian resident on Oahu.

Hawaii visitors and the travel and tourism industry together with the entertainment world is making Hawaiians very angry. Hawaiians think the largest industry in the State of Hawaii misusing the word “Alooooha” is disrespecting them and their rich ancient culture.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority should better educate stakeholders and visitors on cultural concerns native Hawaiian people raise. HTA must put an increased effort in on managing tourism and not just look at increasing arrival numbers. Increasing arrival numbers may not be a good indicator for a healthy tourism industry anymore.

With mass tourism and thousands of visitors arriving and leaving the US Pacific State every single day, it appears a boiling point is on the horizon. There may be is an urgent and immediate need to keep this industry safe and profitable. The largest industry in the State of Hawaii is seen as a business of invasion and disrespect by many.

Are you planning to travel to Hawaii? Are you operating a tourist attraction in the “Aloha State?” Overtourism comes with great concerns, and a massive number of people on Waikiki’s sidewalks, restaurants, hotels, and shopping malls, and beaches are a good indication there is a limit to tourism.  Has this limit been reached? Native Hawaiians are even more concerned. They are worried the travel and tourism industry is overwriting their rich Hawaiian Culture. For them shouting out “Alooooha” is a good indication.

A recent discussion on the eTurboNews Publishers Facebook points out such concerns.

Derek Hiapo told eTN: “To use the HAWAIIAN word “ALOHA” I need to make something VERY CLEAR!!  HAWAIIANS AND THE USE OF OUR LANGUAGE have been taken over by people who have NEVER known the true meaning of the word. For us kanaka maoli, we have had EVERYTHING stolen from us by people who are intent on raping us of EVERYTHING WE HAVE!!! The meaning of aloha cannot be lived or practiced, when what people have learned about the word “aloha” was taught to them at the usual tourist luau with someone onstage screaming the word and giving some halfwitted story about what that word means.

THERE’S WAY MORE MEANING TO THE WORD ALOHA AND THE PRACTICE OF LIVING ALOHA!!! You ask where is the aloha?? Being chased off of, and away from, it’s native homeland!! Where is the aloha?? In the bank accounts and pockets of all who’ve come to Hawaii to make their money at the cost of us kanaka maoli!! Where is the aloha?? In the twisted history being taught to the world that says that Hawaii was “saved” by America and not being told the TRUTH behind the theft of our internationally recognized sovereign kingdom. People want us to show ALOHA, but all we’ve been shown is disrespect, poverty, death, and the bastardization of our culture for the benefit of the illegal foreign occupier.”

Adam added this story:

“A long time ago, there lived a Hawaiian family. They worked the land for generations. Then one day there appeared a stranger. He was a haole guy (caucasion guy) who got lost and stumbled upon the Hawaiian family.

They told him where to go back but they invited him to stay with them as he seemed to have a cold. He lived with them for a week and they took care of his needs. He eventually left.
Then soon afterward, the family got sick and only the mother was left. The man returned and brought his Japanese friend. They stayed in the Hawaiian family’s house. The Hawaiian mother took care of them as she was still in mourning. The haole guy and the Japanese guy decided that it would be great if others could experience her hospitality and “the culture”.

They devised plans and started a tour business. When the Hawaiian woman began to complain as she now was being forced to work under them in her own land, they asked her, “Where was your Aloha Spirit? Don’t be such an angry Kanaka” She then began to be quiet. Then more of her time and food was being given to the strangers. She then complained again.

This time the haole guy said “Okay let’s be fair and democratic about this. Let’s vote. ” The haole and Japanese guys voted to keep the Hawaiian woman as their employee while taking over her family’s lands. And that, in a nutshell, is what is happening in Hawai’i.”

Aloha is not only a magical word for Hawaii but was stolen further by destinations like Hainan, China. The Chinese destination is fully banking and integrating on the magic this word had for many and is further offending native people in Hawaii.

The overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii began on January 17, 1893, with a coup d’état against Queen Liliʻuokalani on the island of Oahu by subjects of the Kingdom of Hawaii, United States citizens, and foreign residents residing in Honolulu.

Read what the Queen said in 1907:

The Hawaiian Queen comment on the word ALOOOOHA

Wikipedia posted: Liliʻuokalani was born on September 2, 1838, in Honolulu, on the island of Oʻahu. While her natural parents were Analea Keohokālole and Caesar Kapaʻakea, she was hānai (informally adopted) at birth by Abner Pākī and Laura Kōnia and raised with their daughter Bernice Pauahi Bishop. Baptized as a Christian and educated at the Royal School, she and her siblings and cousins were proclaimed eligible for the throne by King Kamehameha III. She was married to American-born John Owen Dominis, who later became the Governor of Oʻahu. The couple had no biological children but adopted several. After the accession of her brother David Kalākaua to the throne in 1874, she and her siblings were given Western style titles of Prince and Princess. In 1877, after her younger brother Leleiohoku II’s death, she was proclaimed as heir apparent to the throne. During the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, she represented her brother as an official envoy to the United Kingdom.

Liliʻuokalani ascended to the throne on January 29, 1891, nine days after her brother’s death. During her reign, she attempted to draft a new constitution which would restore the power of the monarchy and the voting rights of the economically disenfranchised. Threatened by her attempts to abrogate the Bayonet Constitution, pro-American elements in Hawaiʻi overthrew the monarchy on January 17, 1893. The overthrow was bolstered by the landing of US Marines under John L. Stevens to protect American interests, which rendered the monarchy unable to protect itself.

The coup d’état established the Republic of Hawaiʻi, but the ultimate goal was the annexation of the islands to the United States, which was temporarily blocked by President Grover Cleveland. After an unsuccessful uprising to restore the monarchy, the oligarchical government placed the former queen under house arrest at the ʻIolani Palace. On January 24, 1895, Liliʻuokalani was forced to abdicate the Hawaiian throne, officially ending the deposed monarchy. Attempts were made to restore the monarchy and oppose annexation, but with the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, the United States annexed Hawaiʻi. Living out the remainder of her later life as a private citizen, Liliʻuokalani died at her residence, Washington Place, in Honolulu on November 11, 1917.

It appears the problem of overtourism and local culture is not unique to Hawaii.
Barcelona also thinks Tourism is an invasion, but ETOA doesn’t want tourists to go home yet 

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