Ganga Dileep, CEO, Clean Tamil Nadu Company; Jose Dominic, Co-founder, CGH Earth; Dileep Kumar P.I., co-founder & CEO, Imperience Hotels & Resorts; and moderator Saraswathy Nagarajan at the session ‘Accessible Hospitality: Rethinking Hotels, Resorts and Public Venues’ at the Kerala for All conclave jointly organised by Kerala Tourism and The Hindu in Kochi on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: H. VIBHU
Sensitivity to the local community is the key factor that makes hospitality accessible to all, a panel of experts observed at a discussion held as part of the Kerala for All conclave on Sunday.
The session, titled Accessible Hospitality: Rethinking Hotels, Resorts and Public Venues, highlighted how the success of tourism depends largely on the sensitivity and participation of the local community.
Speaking at the session, Jose Dominic, founder of CGH Earth, noted that a growing sense of consciousness is emerging among tourists regarding the environment and the communities they visit. “As far as tourism is concerned, the customer is no longer the king. The environment comes first, followed by the local community. The visitor comes only afterwards. This means that a place which is good to live in automatically becomes a great place to visit as well,” he said.
Tourism, according to him, should not be driven solely by the customer or the consumer. “It must benefit the community it serves and fulfil a larger purpose. Kerala’s success and achievements in this regard stem from the way tourism has served local communities in many ways: through job creation, dignity of labour, respect for knowledge, and several other factors,” he added.
‘Sense of belonging’
Dileep Kumar P.I., Chief Executive Officer of Imperience Hotels and Resorts, said a destination becomes truly special when its owner feels a sense of belonging to the place, when the living beings around it feel the same, and when visitors too feel that the place belongs to them.
Ganga Dileep, Chief Executive Officer of Clean Tamil Nadu Company, highlighted the difference between access and accessibility in the tourism sector. She also spoke about how the concept of hospitality is being redefined through greater participation of local communities. “From a systemic or government perspective, the key challenge lies in transforming irresponsible crowds into responsible behaviour,” she said, while stressing the need to bridge gaps between government systems and the private industry to achieve this goal.
Published – February 01, 2026 07:21 pm IST
