Seasoned globetrotters are demanding more and more from their travels, from locations which are off the beaten track to an opportunity to live among locals, all in an effort to create authentic experiences. (Featured image by Padmanaba01)
The latest requirement to feature on travellers’ check lists is responsible tourism, an initiative that gives rather than takes away from communities.
A slum tour in Mumbai has achieved just this, donating 80 per cent of earnings to its NGO sister organisation, a fact that helped it to earn the title of overall winner of the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards 2012.
Run by Reality Tours and Travel, the tour leads groups of just six people on a two-and-a-half hour journey through the narrow streets of Dharavi, made famous by the 2008 Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.
Visitors are given the opportunity to purchase gifts such as honey and candles from the recycling and baking enterprises that operate out of residents’ homes.
Chris Way created Reality Tours and Travel with his partner, Krishna Pujari, in 2006 after visiting Rio’s famous favelas.
“I realised after visiting Brazil that it could work in Mumbai, which I had visited many years before, but I wanted to do it better,” he said.
While “poverty tourism” has been accused of creating negative stereotypes of life in the poorest parts of the world, the Dharavi tour highlights the resourcefulness and vibrancy of local communities.
Commenting on the changing shape of travel, Way added: “Travel is not just about the location any more, it’s about the experience.
“So we’re taking advantage of this need to understand how another culture lives with these tours that give directly back.”
Reality Tour generated 7.2 million rupees (£80,300) last year, with 80 per cent of this figure donated to its non-government sister organisation, Reality Gives.
The annual donation has provided English classes to 142 young adults, trained 17 local women to become teachers, supported a kindergarten, provided English classes in a local school and paid for cricket equipment and art lessons.
