Faced with numerous complaints, the district administration has decided to initiate measures to rein in unauthorised tourist guides by introducing a licensing system.
The move comes in the wake of criticisms raised by stakeholders regarding the inability of the authorities concerned in preventing guides from fleecing tourists. There have been several allegations that such guides were posted by certain houseboat operators to rope in tourists.
According to District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) executive committee member R.R Joshiraj, it has been decided to issue licences for authorised guides in the district. The DTPC will call for applications from those willing to come under the recognition scheme. The applicants will have to submit police verification certificates along with their application forms.
Those selected will be imparted training by the DTPC in association with the Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS). The participants of the training programme will be provided identity cards and badges issued by the district administration. The list of certified guides will then be handed over to the police.
Mr. Joshiraj said a proposal to make mandatory monthly renewal of the identity cards was being considered. “The rationale behind the move was that longer periods for renewal could lead to misuse of the licenses by guides. It will also be possible to constantly monitor and also initiate stringent measures against those found to misbehave with the guests. The licenses of guides found to behave rudely with the tourists will be withdrawn,” he said. There have also been complaints that certain houseboat operators were violating the prescribed norms by charging rates higher that the standardised rates that prevailed in the industry. Such operators were aided by middlemen, who canvassed tourists to the houseboats for their commissions.
To address the problem, the DTPC will encourage tourists to make use of the prepaid counter that has been functioning at the houseboat terminal at the Punnamada Finishing Point. Boards that inform incoming tourists of the facility will be erected by the DTPC by the side of the national highway from Aroor to Kayamkulam. The prepaid counter will enable tourists to select the houseboats in accordance with their preferences.
