Kerala entered into an agreement today with UN Women, boosting women-friendly activities in the state’s tourism sector by training stakeholders who include young representatives and civil organizations.
A memorandum of understanding signed by Kerala Tourism Director, P.B. Nooh and UN Women India Representative, Susan Ferguson agreed to work towards promoting gender-inclusive tourism sites in the state.
As per the pact inked at the Global Responsible Tourism Summit in Kumarakom near this city, both parties will promote women-friendly tourism in Kerala. This will be done by creating modules and capacity-building of relevant stakeholders, besides providing advisory support for baseline research, implementing women-friendly tourist destinations, and supporting interventions to change prevalent discriminatory social norms.
Tourism Minister, P.A. Mohamed Riyas, while inaugurating the four-day summit at Lakesong resort, said the MoU was in continuation of the state government’s renewed efforts towards women-friendly tourism since October last year. “We will ensure good female participation in tourism initiatives and allied services besides RT (Responsible Tourism) projects. The idea is to promote tourism with focus on women empowerment,” he added.
Susan Ferguson, speaking at the opening ceremony, said women merited encouragement to work in tourism so as to instill a sense of security among the travelers to the state. “More jobs to women in key slots will not only generate employment but curtail the prevailing gender inequality,” she noted.
Kerala Inks Pact With UN Women To Boost Women-friendly Tourism
