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India Gazette
08-07-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
Kerala's gender-inclusive tourism policy will support new entrants: Tourism Minister Mohammed Riyas
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], July 8 (ANI): Kerala Tourism Minister PA Mohammed Riyas on Tuesday said the state government will go ahead with its action plan to support newcomers, especially women, to the tourism sector, aligning with the vision of inclusive and sustainable development of tourism. The Minister was delivering the inaugural address to the state-level consultation workshop to bring out a Gender Inclusive and Women-Friendly Tourism Policy as part of the women-friendly tourism initiative here. The workshop was organised by the Department of Tourism in collaboration with Kerala Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission Society and UN Women India. The two major objectives of the gender-inclusive project that took off in 2022 were to create women-friendly tourism centres and create a network of women enterprises in the tourism sector, the Minister said. 'It is vital to extend support to the newcomers to the tourism sector, especially women, to ensure that they flourish in the competitive ecosystem,' Riyas said. 'Initially, around 17,631 women had joined the project with diverse enterprises and services. These included exclusive women tour units, homestays, souvenir units and services like community tour leaders and tour operators. After imparting training to them, tourism activities are being conducted in a coordinated manner,' he said. The government also has allotted funds for the women's ventures through RT's subsidy scheme, Riyas said. The Minister said Kerala Tourism's women-inclusive project was greatly appreciated by the UN Women India, which also extended technical support in areas like destination safety, gender audit and training programmes. Riyas said Kerala was the first state to conduct a gender audit in the country. This has been completed in six centres and will be held in another 14 tourism centres this financial year. Also, a safety audit has been completed in 68 tourism spots, and activities are in full swing to implement women-friendly initiatives there. Holding that the women-friendly initiative will help overcome the challenges in the sector, Riyas said post-COVID-19, the state clocked a record in domestic tourists' arrival while outpacing other states in the national average of foreign tourists' arrival. In her opening remarks, Kerala Tourism Director Sikha Surendran said the women-friendly initiative of the state has become a global model for others to emulate it. 'Apart from firming up Kerala's position on the global tourism map as an all-season experiential destination, our RT initiative has brought significant benefits to the local communities, especially women as its major stakeholders,' she noted. S K Sajeesh, Chairman, Kerala Tourism Infrastructure Ltd (KTIL), presided over the function. A panel discussion followed the inaugural session. In her keynote address, Kanta Singh, Country Representative, UN Women, India, said Kerala has been showing the way for the country in many things, and it is a privilege to partner with the state government and the RT project to do more for women in the tourism sector. In his presentation of a framework for Gender Responsive Tourism Policy, K Rupeshkumar, CEO, Kerala RT Mission Society, said the upcoming policy will lay down guidelines for implementation, monitoring and evaluation of gender inclusive practices. 'The major objectives of the policy include fostering women's participation in the tourism industry, ensuring safety and security and women's empowerment,' he said. It will also address such issues as workplace practices, ensure safe work environments for employees and development of inclusive and accessible infrastructure and services in destinations. Rupeshkumar added an action plan for the implementation of each component of the policy will be worked out as a backup for the policy. The Gender Inclusive Tourism Policy will include stakeholders like tourism entrepreneurs, tour operators, hotels, local communities, tourists from diverse backgrounds, especially women. Mini Sukumar, Member, Kerala State Planning Board & Governing Body Member, The Gender Park, said a positive transformation has happened in the tourism sector after the implementation of a women-friendly initiative. S Swaminathan, Secretary, Kerala Travel Mart Society, and Jose Dominic, Founder, CGH Earth, also spoke. The speakers at the panel discussion included Veda Bharadwaja, Country Programme Manager, UN Women India and Dr Peeja Rajan, State Coordinator, UN Women India. (ANI)
The Hindu
08-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Kerala's gender-inclusive tourism policy to support new entrants to sector: Tourism Minister
The Kerala government will go ahead with its action plan to support newcomers, especially women, to the tourism sector, aligning with the vision of inclusive and sustainable development of tourism, Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas has said. The Minister was delivering the inaugural address at the State-level consultation workshop organised to bring out Gender Inclusive and Women-Friendly Tourism Policy as part of the women-friendly tourism initiative in the State. The workshop was organised by the Department of Tourism in collaboration with the Kerala Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission Society and UN Women India. Major objectives The two major objectives of the gender-inclusive project that took off in 2022 were to create women-friendly tourism centres and a network of women enterprises in the sector, the Minister said. 'It is vital to extent support to the new comers to the tourism sector, especially women, to ensure that they flourish in the completive ecosystem,' Mr. Riyas said. 'Initially, around 17,631 women had joined the project with diverse enterprises and services. These included exclusive women tour units, homestays, souvenir units and services such as community tour leaders and tour operators. After imparting training to them, tourism activities are being conducted in a coordinated manner,' he said. Gender audit Lauded by the UN Women India, which also extended technical support in areas like destination safety, gender audit and training programmes, Kerala was the first State to conduct a gender audit in the country. This has been completed in six tourism centres and will be held in another 14 this financial year. Also, safety audit had been completed in 68 tourism spots and activities were in full swing to implement women-friendly initiatives there, the Minister said. In her keynote address, Kanta Singh, Country Representative, UN Women India, said Kerala had been showing the way for the country in many things and it was a privilege to partner with the State government and the RT project to do more for women in the tourism sector. Women's participation In his presentation of framework for Gender Responsive Tourism Policy, K. Rupeshkumar, chief executive officer, Kerala RT Mission Society, said the upcoming policy would lay down guidelines for implementation, monitoring and evaluation of gender-inclusive practices. 'The major objectives of the policy include fostering women's participation in tourism industry, ensuring safety and security and women's empowerment,' he said. It will also address issues such as workplace practices, ensure safe work environments for employees, and development of inclusive and accessible infrastructure and services in destinations. Mr. Rupeshkumar also added that an action plan on the implementation of each component of the policy would be worked out as a backup for the policy. The Gender Inclusive Tourism Policy will include stakeholders like tourism entrepreneurs, tour operators, hotels, local communities, and tourists from diverse background, especially women.
Time of India
29-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
NTPC Kudgi's empowerment drive upskills girls from 5 villages
1 2 3 4 Vijayapura: National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Kudgi has rolled out its Girl Empowerment Mission (GEM) 2025 in five project-affected villages—Kudgi, Masuti, Golasangi, Telagi, and Muttagi. The initiative will benefit 76 girls, aligning with the central govt's 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' programme, and aims to foster gender equality and holistic development. Akshay Hujare, CSR executive, NTPC Kudgi, informed that the workshop commenced on May 21 and will conclude on June 21. "We have selected 76 girl students studying in class 6 from 14 schools in rural areas. Over the course of the workshop, participants will engage in an immersive experience that includes academic sessions, life skills training, yoga sessions, sports, and various co-curricular and extracurricular activities. We are inviting achievers in the region to interact with these students so that they can get motivated. It is not just a workshop, but a transformative journey. By offering a safe, inclusive, and enriching environment, the initiative continues to inspire young girls to grow into confident, capable, and future-ready individuals," he claimed. Hujare said that basics of the students' school subjects will also be covered in the workshop. Bidyanand Jha, executive director, NTPC Kudgi, told TOI that GEM is a flagship CSR project launched in 2018 in the vicinity of NTPC power stations across the country. "It was conferred as the first runner-up in the prestigious 2014 UN Women India (Women's Empowering Principles) award in the 'community engagement and partnership' category. This initiative is implemented in NTPC Kudgi since 2021 by conducting a month's residential workshop for rural girl students. This mission aims to educate, inspire, and empower our young daughters to dream big and achieve even bigger. Through this mission, NTPC aims to contribute to building a more equitable and progressive society," he added. He also asserted that some talented and interested employees of NTPC are also engaged in this workshop. Workshop participants Poornima, Khairunbi, Basamma, Basheera, and other students said that they came to the campus with just the clothes they wore. "As soon as we arrived here, we got a kit with all daily need materials - right from footwear to hair clips. We are also getting benefits of medical, menstrual care, and dental check-up camps. At home, we were least bothered about eating and were deprived of nutritious food. Here, we are getting sufficient and nutritious food. Moreover, our lifestyle has improved with habits like waking up early in the morning. We were never away from our parents and hence we were homesick in the beginning. However, caretakers ensured that we synchronised with the new environment and now we feel like this is our own home," they shared.
