Young travellers promote sustainable tourism in hills

Dehradun:

Athulya Jeevi

, a 28-year-old architect from Thiruvananthapuram, who started travelling around five years ago for her love of history and architecture, is now exploring north India, including Uttarakhand, with six other young travelers like her from across the country, to promote sustainable tourism. The group of youngsters, after winning the Odyssey Travel Scholarship, 2022, an inituative by travel start-up

Shoshin Tribe

, are setting examples of responsible tourism by travelling with minumum luggage, leaving less trash behind, staying with local families rather than resorts and using local modes of transport.From over 400 applications, six people from various backgrounds were selected through three rounds of questionnaires, interviews and interactions. The group started their tour on April 10 from Delhi and has visited Hisar, Amritsar, Mcleodganj, Dehradun, Devalsari so far. They are in

Mussoorie

now and will visit Rishikesh next.Mumbai’s

Parag Satardekar

, a 34-year-old who quit his job as an architect last year and has been travelling since, said, “In Doon, we went on NGO walks, met women entrepreneurs, especially locals who are doing well for themselves as well as the community. We experienced boulder climbing as Dehradun offers that kind of natural territory,” he said. Shoshin Tribe was started in the middle of the pandemic in January 2021 and they collaborated with goSTOPS, a backpacker hostel brand, that started in 2014 and is now funding the scholarship. “The idea is to understand how travel helps us learn and grow in the most unexpected ways,” said Himanshu Shekhar, founder of Shoshin Tribe.Meanwhile, goSTOPS founder Pallavi Agarwal said, “As travel seems to be set for a major comeback post pandemic and with the increasing push for responsible and sustainable travel today, a fully-financed enriching and educational expedition opportunity will surely prove to be a life-changing experience for these passionate travellers.”