By Kay O'Sullivan
Dharavi spirit
Last year, few people would have heard of Dharavi, the Mumbai slum that provides the backdrop for the movie Slumdog Millionaire. But with the film winning best picture at the Oscars, the area is well and truly on the map.
Chris Way, the co-owner of Reality Tours and Travel, which conducts tours of Dharavi, says business has picked up by more than 25 per cent since the movie was released and visits to the company's website have increased threefold in the past three weeks.
"It's hard to say what has caused the lift," Way says. "The movie, certainly, but also numbers on our tour are increasing due to a recovery of the tourism industry [after] the attacks in late November."
Way says most people who sign up for the tour are backpackers.
An accountant by trade, the British-born tour leader is a passionate supporter of the Indian spirit, particularly that which pervades Dharavi, a 1.75-kilometre triangle of land that is home to an estimated 1 million people.
"The aim of the tours is to help dispel the negative images that many have about slum dwellers," he says.
The people have little material wealth but are constantly smiling and happy, Way says.
It is also an area of great activity and productivity. More than 10,000 small businesses, including tanneries, recycling companies and potteries turning over a staggering $665 million a year, are housed within the stifling confines of the slum.
In answer to criticism that his company is exploiting the poor, Way says the pride, dignity and privacy of the slum dwellers is always the overriding priority for his company.
Tourists are asked not to bring cameras and 80 per cent of profits from the Dharavi tours goes to non-governmental organisations working with local charities.
Way has set up an English-language school and would like to hear from people interested in helping. The company also acts as a central point for volunteers wanting to find projects.
Tours run seven days a week, year-round. A 21/2-hour tour is 400 rupees ($12.80), while the 4 1/2-hour tour is 800 rupees.
See realitytoursandtravel.com.
Skiers do a rain dance
If there is one word that best describes Australian skiers, it is optimistic. Generally, they are well-practised in finding silver linings in clouds.
The rain filling Lake Eyre is a sign of a good snow season, say some in the snowfields. They say that in 2000, the last time Lake Eyre filled at this time of year, Australia had a bumper season and they are hopeful there will be a repeat this year.
Smooth operators
Airlines tend to use on-board products, such as amenity kits, to feature home-grown talent. For instance, Qantas uses Collette Dinnigan, Akira Isogawa and Korner Skincare in its premium kits.
So it's worth noting that Cathay Pacific is tucking products from Aesop, the Australian skincare company, into the amenity pack it gives its first-class female passengers.
The brand, which was started in 1987 by Melbourne hairdresser Dennis Paphitis, is sold and coveted globally.
Trips at last year's prices
Inbound tour operators aren't complaining about the drop in our dollar as it makes Australia a more attractive proposition for international visitors. But, of course, it isn't such great news for outbound operators.
Many had their 2009 brochures (containing prices in Australian dollars) on the shelves when the dollar started its downward spiral last year. It's a situation that doesn't make for a healthy balance sheet when you are working with international suppliers who deal in US dollars.
The giant Travel Corporation, which carries more than 1 million passengers annually, is honouring the prices in its brochures for its brands Trafalgar Tours, Insight Vacations, Contiki Holidays and Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection.
Initially, the offer was to peg prices until January 31 but it has been extended to March 31. So hurry if you want to benefit from 25 per cent savings on more than 360 different trips.
Lane Cove park's awards
February was a big month for the Lane Cove River Tourist Park. It was given the nod as the best caravan park at last month's Qantas Australian Tourism Awards, and it was named as one of 12 finalists in the World Travel and Tourism Council's ecotourism awards.
The 600-hectare site in the Lane Cove National Park is the only Australian company in the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, to be announced in Brazil in May.
The park, the first to hold an Advanced Tourism Certificate from Ecotourism Australia, uses solar power, has water-saving practices and provides an on-site carbon offset program.
It has been nominated in the conservation category and is competing against resorts in Greece and Costa Rica.
See lcrtp.com.au.
Send news items to smarttraveller@fairfax.com.au.
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