TTT NEWS NETWORK
IDUKKI, 1 DECEMBER 2024:
Kerala’s sustained measures in women’s safety, inclusiveness and economic empowerment have enabled the state to make “exemplary” contribution to a significant surge in the country’s female labour participation, UN Women India Country Representative Susan Ferguson said today.
The state’s “emphasis on ensuring safety for women in public spaces complements the need for safety in tourism”, Ms Ferguson noted at the ‘Global Women Conference on Gender Inclusive and Responsible Tourism’ at Mangulam near Munnar in this district. The conclave is being organised, on behalf of Kerala Tourism, by the Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission Society in collaboration with UN Women.
“A safe environment not only attracts more women travellers but enables women to confidently work in diverse roles within the industry, such as tour operators, guides, and entrepreneurs,” she said.
Delivering a keynote at the session on ‘Creating Safe and Inclusive Tourism Spaces on the Theme: Safety, Inclusivity, and Global Trends’, Ms Ferguson hailed Kerala for being “uniquely successful” in implementing a pioneering and holistic development model that has generated “great progress” in human development.
“By encouraging women to participate in ‘non-traditional roles’ as managers, entrepreneurs and specialized professionals, Kerala contributes to reshaping societal attitudes towards the kinds of roles women can take up in the economy,” she noted at the three-day event.
Observing that Kerala’s proactive measures in gender equality align well with India’s broader goals of enhancing women’s labour force participation, Ms Ferguson said the tourism sector, with its rapid growth and transformative potential, has been serving as an “ideal avenue” for realising these objectives.
As UN Women is collaborating with Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission in the Women- Friendly Tourism Program, the world body looks forward to continuing to support the state’s tourism.
This can be carried out through training modules and capacity-building of stakeholders, developing technical publications, strengthening implementation of women-friendly tourism destinations by building synergies with other flagship programmes of the government and supporting interventions to change prevalent discriminatory social norms, attitudes and behaviours to create gender-inclusive public spaces in tourism, she added.
Further, gender assessment and women’s safety audits are “critical to developing sustainable and inclusive tourism”, Ms Ferguson said. “There is evidence to suggest that conducting gender audits of tourist destinations, evaluating policies, programmes and infrastructure through a gender lens enable destinations to cater to women’s diverse experiences and expectations, enhancing their overall safety and satisfaction.”
The Gender Assessment and Women’s Safety Audit by KRTMS makes some critical policy advocacy and evidence-based recommendations to improve service delivery and public infrastructure and to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls, she pointed out. “I am looking forward to seeing the recommendations of the audit being implemented in Kerala and Kerala’s model tourism expanded to other states in India,” she added.
The conference, which was inaugurated yesterday by Kerala Tourism Minister Shri P.A. Mohamed Riyas, features keynote sessions, panel discussions, a B2B Meet and networking sessions. The aim, overall, is to create opportunities for conversations and collaborations besides fostering a dynamic environment for partnership-building and exchanging innovative ideas in Gender Inclusive and Responsible Tourism.
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