Research vertical 06
Tourism and Culture
How tourism and cultural life can bring prosperity to communities without eroding the places, traditions and environments that attract visitors in the first place.
Tourism is one of Kerala’s most visible industries, and culture is one of its deepest sources of identity. This vertical studies both as matters of public policy: who benefits, who bears the costs and how the long term can be protected.
Why it matters
Tourism supports many livelihoods, from homestays and boatmen to performers and craftspeople. It can also crowd out residents, strain water and waste systems, and damage the landscapes that bring visitors. Kerala has experimented with responsible tourism models that link visitors to local producers. Culture, from classical and folk arts to literature and cinema, needs public support that respects artistic freedom.
How we work
- Destination studies. We study specific destinations to understand visitor numbers, local incomes and environmental pressure.
- Community tourism. We evaluate models that aim to share tourism income more widely.
- Cultural policy. We examine public funding for the arts, cultural institutions and heritage sites.
- Recovery and resilience. We look at how tourism communities recover from floods, landslides and pandemics.
This vertical works closely with the Environment and Disaster Management and Urbanisation verticals.
Questions we are asking
- 01
Who earns the money that tourists spend, and how much stays in local communities?
- 02
How many visitors can a hill station, a beach or a backwater sustain?
- 03
How should public funds support artists, performers and cultural institutions?
- 04
What does good heritage conservation look like in a living town?
Publications
Work from this vertical will appear here as it is published.
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