Tourism secretary Sujit Banerjee wants hotels to be more socially alert & responsible
The Ministry of Tourism has decided on a code of conduct for ‘Safe and Honourable Tourism’, in which they expect major involvement on the part of hoteliers, tour operators, taxi drivers, and other hospitality-linked services.
While the World Travel and Tourism Council has named India as one of the fastest growing tourism destinations in the next ten years, currently, the safety of tourists, especially women, leaves much to be desired. MoT has discussions with the Pacific Aviation Travel Association (PATA) and United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime and Equitable Tourism Option (EQUATIONS) on the subject.
The HotelierIndia.com published a related article on January 7 this year where the MoT had enlisted the industry in its anti-child pornography drive. Click here for the full article
Asked on whether these measures would be enough to counter the nuisance, Sujit Banerjee, secretary, Ministry of Tourism, said: “I am an optimist. I hope this will have a salutary effect, where tour operators, hotel owners, and lodge owners will abide by it and not allow such things to happen on their premises. After all, IT is now the order of the day, and so objectionable material can be controlled on laptops, computers, and televisions. A hotel that has signed the code of conduct should have this information available at the check-in desk. The code will spread more awareness; these crimes are happening not just in the big cities, but also smaller cities and religious centres.”
The code underlines guidelines for the protection of women and children, specifically, staff training for awareness to recognise and report sex crimes; regulations on the internet and hotel equipment such as televisions and computers that can be misused for pornography; and alerting guests as well as staff through brochures available at the check-in desk, and in-room information.
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