‘Government, law-enforcing agencies working for tourists’ safety’

NEW DELHI - Amid reports of some foreign nationals being raped in India, Union Tourism Minister Kumari Selja Thursday said her ministry was working closely with the law enforcing agencies in the country to ensure that women tourists were safe.

“We are working closely with the police and other law-enforcing agencies to strengthen law and order. The tourism industry stake-holders have to help the agencies in strengthening the law enforcing mechanism not only for the Commonwealth Games, but also after it. Such incidents are bad for the country,” she said.

“We have to create a situation where women tourists feel safe,” Selja said, while releasing a code of conduct for safe and honourable tourism in the capital.

The minister was quizzed by the media about the safety of tourists and single women travellers following the alleged rape of three foreign nationals — two Dutch and a Brazilian woman — in the capital.

She said her ministry has launched a social awareness campaign under the banner ‘Atithi Deva Bhava’ that spreads awareness about responsible tourism and teaches industry stake-holders to treat women and children with respect.

“We need a separate campaign to look into the safety of incoming tourists and tell organisations concerned that they will not be a party to activities that exploit women and children. Such exploitation should be brought to the notice of the law-enforcing agencies,” she said.

She said hotels would be instructed to train their staff to handle foreign tourists.

“We now have a code of conduct to follow. Our ministry has been working with the United Nations and Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) since 1994 to evolve the code. We have been the eyes and ears of responsible tourism for years and the ‘Incredible India’ campaign has been striving to make India a hospitable country,” she said.

Tourism Secretary Sujit Banerjee, who will chair the workshops, said an advisory would be issued to foreign tourists to book only into hotels that adhere to the code of conduct for safe and honourable tourism.

“We will post the names of only those hotels on our website that abide by the code,” Banerjee told IANS.