No Footprints, a city-based travel company, won the Best Tour Operator award at the Outlook Responsible Tourism Awards in January 2020. The brand was hailed for its immersive approach, enabling visitors to experience communities, culture and hear their stories first hand. Founders Eesha Singh and Harshavardhan Tanwar say the idea had been to curate unique experiences. "Before the pandemic, we had launched the Queer tour, a sort of deep dive into queer communities of the city, the legacy of the culture, politics, conflicts and pleasure." The pair says that the new tour helped create employment for people from the community as walk leaders. But their commitment to sustainable and responsible tourism has been severely tested under the "new normal".

The Coronavirus outbreak pulled the plug on guided tours, and the firm. Like most others, they too have had to move their activities online. "Our strength lies in offering intimate experiences that are out of the box and defy convention. But post-pandemic, the community members are wary of allowing in visitors. Tourists, on their part, are concerned about the safety of the location and social distancing." Whether it is taking a walk through the 200-year-old East Indian gaothan of Matharpacady in the bylanes of Mazagaon or exploring the fishing village in Worli Koliwada, the permission and participation of the residents not only gave the tours legitimacy, it also helped ensure the protection and promotion of their traditions, explains Singh, who heads strategy and consumer planning.