Kerala demands gender-inclusive & responsible tourism practices

Munnar, Dec 2 (IANS) A conference was held in Kerala on Monday which called for gender-inclusive and responsible tourism practices in the state.

The event called for building a tourism landscape that celebrates diversity, empowers women and protects the environment by adopting sustainable and gender-inclusive practices in all verticals of tourism.

The conference was titled, ‘The Kerala Declaration of Gender Inclusive and Women Friendly Tourism’.

The declaration, signed by an entire spectrum of stakeholders including state agencies, also unveiled a four-point “Call to Action” advocating collective efforts to secure the goals set out by the initiative.

The declaration pointed to an urgent need for fostering gender inclusivity, accessibility, and climate-responsive practices in the tourism sector while prioritising the safety, well-being and empowerment of women in the tourism economy.

It also emphasised the need to promote gender-sensitive practices across all areas of tourism to ensure fair representation of women, gender minorities, and other under-represented groups, guaranteeing equality in opportunities, leadership and decision-making.

It called for organising capacity-building programmes for women in entrepreneurship management, formulating and implementing robust policies to prevent harassment and exploitation of women and children by putting in place effective prevention and response mechanisms.

The declaration pitched for equitable pay and safe working conditions for women, reskilling and upskilling and leveraging of media and marketing campaigns to break stereotypes about gender roles in tourism.

The declaration underscored the critical role of women in protecting the environment, especially in promoting climate-responsive tourism practices, encouraging ecotourism and responsible tourism that supports the local community.

It noted that women can play a lead role in developing Responsible Tourism (RT) that aligns with local customs and practices, forging partnerships with local communities, reducing leakages in benefits, and supporting medium and micro enterprises through equitable business practices.

The “Call to Action” pledged to take forward the gender-inclusive and responsible tourism model to make it a transformative force on the ground.

These include integration of gender inclusivity and RT practices as the core principles of tourism planning, with a special focus on women-friendly initiatives, strengthening collaboration across sectors and stakeholders to share knowledge, resources and strategies, continuous monitoring and reporting to ensure gender inclusivity, transparency and accountability, advocacy of policies that protect women’s rights in tourism and addressing gender-based challenges and enhancing safety and empowerment.

The action plan is aligned with the larger goal of fostering a sustainable and inclusive tourism model that benefits local communities, businesses, destinations, travellers and governments, and called for all stakeholders to embrace this vision.

The signatories to the historic Kerala Declaration include State Minister for Tourism P.A. Mohamed Riyas, UN Women India Country Representative Susan Ferguson, Chairman International Centre for Responsible Tourism Global, Dr. Harold Goodwin and numerous others.

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