Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said here on Monday that the government hoped to provide employment to 1.5 lakh people through its Responsible Tourism Mission.
Inaugurating a seminar on ‘Responsible Tourism,’ Mr. Surendran said the government was taking steps to provide employment to around 50,000 persons belonging to local communities in tourism centres. As part of this, 20 ‘Village Life Experience Packages’ would be started. These would focus on traditional vocations such as coir, handloom and pottery-making as components of these packages. This would help the local communities to benefit from the tourism initiatives, he said.
Welcoming the gathering, Principal Secretary (Tourism) V. Venu said ‘Responsible Tourism’ initiatives have been started in four locations in different parts of the State, including Bekal and Kumbalangi, giving immense benefits to the local communities. Chairing the deliberations, A. Sampath, MP, said a great deal of economic benefits could be had from ‘Responsible Tourism.’ There should now be focus on cleanliness so that tourists find the culturally rich destinations in the State attractive, he added.
Taking a class on the theme ‘Responsible Tourism: What? How?’, K. Roopesh Kumar, State field coordinator, Responsible Tourism, said unless the environment was not preserved, tourism would not progress. The Clean Vembanad Initiative in Alappuzha was an instance of profitable partnership between the Tourism Department and the industry to make ‘Responsible Tourism’ a reality, he said.
