Kerala to be made safest tourism destination for women: Tourism Minister
Trivandrum / December 1, 2024
Thiruvananthapuram, Dec. 01: Kerala will soon come out with a policy to make the tourism sector completely women-friendly so that the state becomes the safest tourism destination in the world, Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas has said.
The announcement was made at the Global Women Conference on Gender Inclusive and Responsible Tourism, hailed as the world’s first ever conference with focus on gender inclusivity and women-friendliness in Tourism, at Mankulam, near Munnar, in Idukki district.
A Gender audit report has already been prepared on the prevailing women-friendly environment in the state's tourism sector, the minister said in his address on the first day of the three-day conference yesterday. The report is being discussed at the ongoing conference where international experts are participating.
“We will be taking further steps based on the important discussions taking place here,” Shri Riyas pointed out at the conference being organised by the Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission Society (KRTMS) on behalf of Kerala Tourism and UN Women.
Idukki MP Shri Dean Kuriakose and Devikulam MLA Shri A Raja also spoke.
International Centre for Responsible Tourism Global Chairman Dr Harold Goodwin said Kerala has been the lone state in the world that has shown the courage to present a gender audit before coming up with a gender inclusive policy for tourism.
Kerala has “undoubtedly” emerged on to the forefront of responsible tourism in the world. The state’s commitment to democracy has been the factor behind this achievement, he added in his address.
“With the participation of leading policy-makers in the country along with international experts in this field, we look forward to a policy formulation that can be a model for the world altogether,” said Kerala Tourism Secretary Shri Biju K.
Kerala Tourism Director Smt Sikha Surendran, while presenting the first ever Gender Audit Report in Tourism by any state conducted by UN Women and the Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission Society, said authorities plan to conduct audits at regular intervals in the coming years. “We will seek to know the response of women tourists so as to periodically review the women-friendly activities and improve on them,” she added.
State Responsible Tourism Mission Society CEO Shri Rupeshkumar K termed the conference as a “significant milestone” in the government’s efforts to ensure 100 percent gender justice and safe travel for women.
ENDS
