It is summer vacation again, that time of the year when people searching for popular tourist destinations to beat the heat. Unlike in the past, Kerala is exhorting women this summer to explore new places for new experiences.
She Trips, the women-friendly tourism project initiated by the Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission under the Tourism department, has curated over 40 women’s group trips to various scenic locales in the State.
Speaking to The Hindu, K. Rupeshkumar, Kerala RT Mission coordinator, said unlike in the previous years, there has been a renewed interest among women the world over to travel on their own – both group and solo trips. Kerala has an ambitious plan to declare the State as the first women-friendly travel destination in the country., he says.
As part of the project, the RT Mission has started working on creating a women-friendly tourism network consisting of women travellers and entrepreneurs. In the first phase, a network of 1.5 lakh women, including travellers and entrepreneurs, will be established. To achieve this, training for 1,280 women guides has been completed. Training will be imparted to more women in the coming days. These women groups under the RT Mission have been curating exclusive women’s trips to various destinations, providing a memorable experience for the travellers.
The carefully curated trips will also be “a win-win situation” for both women travellers and the stakeholders as these will offer employment opportunities to local women. For instance, accommodation facility ‘She Stays’ and food provided by women entrepreneurs and other supporting facilities provided by women groups will be given priority in the tourism network, says Mr. Rupeshkumar.
Already, 23,786 groups have registered under the RT Mission as part of its various initiatives, including experiential tourism. Of this, 16,660 units are manned by women, which is around 70% of the total units. Further, a total of 24,860 women have been generating income from this sector in the State.
Hence, creating a network of women travellers and entrepreneurs is not seen as a difficult task in the State. “We are hopeful of declaring Kerala a women-friendly tourist destination soon,” adds Mr. Rupeshkumar.
Published - March 28, 2023 08:40 pm IST
