Kerala has started a project to promote female engagement in all aspects of tourism and draw more female visitors to the State in an effort to become a more women-friendly travel destination.
The State Responsible Tourism Mission (RT Mission) launched the "women-friendly tourism" project with the goal of establishing women-friendly tourism hubs and empowering women. Women from various societal segments will be included in the project's implementation.
The RT Mission's project intends to establish a network of female-staffed tourism centres and women's units. Additionally, the project will make sure that the State's tourist spots meet the needs of female visitors.
The mission will teach selected women to work as tour coordinators, storytellers, community tour leaders, auto/taxi drivers (guest handling), homestay operators, etc. as part of bringing the idea to other districts.
The mission will teach selected women to work as tour coordinators, storytellers, community tour leaders, auto/taxi drivers (guest handling), homestay operators, etc. as part of bringing the idea to other districts.
For the project, which will include a monthly review procedure overseen by the tourism minister, the necessary infrastructure will be made available.
At the project's unveiling, tourism minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas noted that while Kerala already had a reputation as the safest travel destination for women, the State needed a paradigm shift at a time when women were travelling more frequently on their own and in groups than ever before.
“This initiative is conceived not just as a stand-alone package, but as a comprehensive project to ensure presence of ordinary women in various tourism activities and bring more women
travellers to the State. Through this project, the RT Mission will ensure safe and hygienic tourism destinations for women tourists. The all-women tour packages will be controlled and
operated by women,” he said.
The Minister also opened a one-day workshop that was held in conjunction with the project.
Kanta Singh, deputy representative for UN Women India, gave the keynote speech. She stressed the importance of developing a safe, dependable, and hygienic infrastructure that met the needs of women while carrying out the project.
P.B. Nooh, Kerala Tourism Director, called for more discussions to develop solutions for the issues surrounding safe travel for women and encouraging solo trips by women. He claimed that while ensuring the safety of female tourists, the project would bring about a comprehensive change in the tourism industry.
The idea was introduced by RT Mission's state coordinator, K. Rupeshkumar.
