Results tagged “Poverty Tours” from Intelligent Travel Blog

In the course of fact-checking Peggy Loftus's latest online special on poverty tours, we talked with Reality Tours and Travel co-founder Chris Way. His company runs tours through Mumbai's Dharavi, considered by some to be Asia's largest slum. Since the rebound of tourism in Mumbai after last November's attacks and the buzz around Slumdog Millionaire, he guesstimates business is up 25 percent.

How did you create Reality Tours and Travel? How did you get it off the ground?
I got the idea from the favela tours in Rio. I found the concept fascinating with a lot of potential, as there was definitely a market for people wishing to see this side of the city. Having been in Mumbai previously in 2003 doing some volunteer teaching, I knew about the slums (although not Dharavi at that point) and so decided to return to India in late 2004 with this idea in mind. It quickly became apparent that Dharavi was this fascinating place, with so much industry/ energy/ sense of community that it would definitely appeal to tourists. Krishna, who I met in 2003 when he was waiting my table in Colaba, took a little bit of persuading that tourists would find this place interesting (!), but soon saw the potential and we then formed the company in September 2005. Reality Tours, after a few problems, started in January 2006.

What's the rationale behind your no-camera policy? Do some tour-goers bristle at this prohibition?
We started off asking customers to be considerate and respectful while taking photos. We got some criticism in the press for the tours being voyeuristic and having seen some of the photos in the press (of our customers taking photos), we re-considered this policy and felt that on this issue, they had a point. Also there were some comments from people who felt aggrieved that these "rich people were coming here, taking photos and then making lots of money." We do find that the tour runs a lot more smoothly with the no-camera policy; there is no time wasted as photos are taken and people aren't distracted wondering where is the best location to take a photo; the focus is on the tour and the information behind it. To be fair, most people are fine with this policy and understand it, although some people would like some places where photos could be taken.

To what do you account the growth in numbers of people interested in and taking your tours over the past two years?
First and foremost, the area is fascinating and more people have got to know about the tours that we run through word of mouth and publicity in the press and guidebooks. As a company, I think we provide a very good, professional tour at a very low price and people see that we use the money in a responsible way. Also, I think that this kind of tourism is becoming more popular; people are not just interested in the landmarks and sites of historic importance, but also in the day-to-day lives of people, particularly where this way of life is different to their own.