Kerala: Kerala Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas said on Saturday that the state is going to draft a special policy to boost the tourism sector, making it women-friendly and the safest travel destination globally, PTI reported.
While inaugurating the three-day Global Women Conference on Gender-Inclusive and Responsible Tourism at Mankulam near Munnar, Riyas said that an audit report on the existing women-friendly environment in Kerala’s tourism sector has been prepared, according to a government statement.
The report will be presented at the event organised by the Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission Society (KRTMS) in collaboration with Kerala Tourism and UN Women, Riyas added.
The minister added that international experts are participating in the conference, and further actions will be guided by the key discussions held during the event.
Devikulam MLA A Raja, who presided over the event, said that Kerala Tourism’s initiatives, built on trust and community participation, serve as “a model for other regions.” Dr Harold Goodwin, Global Chairman of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism, delivered the keynote address, commending Kerala as the only state globally to undertake a gender audit before formulating a gender-inclusive tourism policy.
Kerala Tourism Director Sikha Surendran, while presenting the state’s first-ever Gender Audit Report in Tourism—conducted by UN Women in collaboration with the Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission Society—said that similar audits would be carried out periodically in the future.
“We will gather feedback from women tourists to periodically assess and work on women-friendly initiatives,” she said, according to the statement.
In addition to the main sessions, the event will feature a three-day exhibition and a B2B networking session aimed at fostering collaboration, partnership-building, and the exchange of innovative ideas, the statement said.
The conference will also celebrate and honour women entrepreneurs and grassroots heroines in the tourism sector, it added.
“Since its inception in 2008, Kerala’s Responsible Tourism (RT) initiative has grown into a massive grassroots network with 25,188 registered units, 17,632 of which are owned or led by women. More than 52,000 people have directly benefited, while 98,432 have gained indirectly, primarily in rural areas. The RT projects also support art, craft, and traditional livelihoods, and have earned numerous national and international accolades,” it said.
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