Kerala records

KERALA: RESEARCH AND RESULTS THAT EVERYONE SHOULD APPLY
The responsible tourism development plan has brought down to ground practical measures toward accessibility, equality, respect, opportunities for all: from criteria for hotels, to developing and promoting local art and craft souvenirs, from local employment, to purchase of local goods and services, to supporting local SMMEs, wages, staff welfare and legal protection, and contribution to social initiatives and nature protection. We have been following the story.
In December 2024 in Kerala, a very important event in world tourism took place: for the first time, hundreds of stakeholders in the tourism industry signed the Declaration on Gender Inclusive and Women Friendly Tourism.
At the ‘Global Women Conference on Gender Inclusive and Responsible Tourism’, for the first time has been set the commitment to integrate gender inclusiveness and responsible tourism practices as the core principles in tourism planning, with a special focus monitoring and ensuring transparency on women friendly initiatives. “Kerala is leading responsible tourism mission, thanks to a team work and the commitment to work together”, said at the opening Harold Goodwin, chairman and founder of the Center for Resonsible Tourism Global. But these are not the only data. “The Responsible tourism initiative is now a massive grassroots network of 25,188 units, of which 17453 owned by women, 18,000 women members, one million and half people involved directly or indirectly - explained Rupesh Kumar, CEO of Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission, as he opened the great Global Women Conference- Women are leading these initiatives, with a triple bottom approach: economic, socio cultural, environmental. We have gone from the first community forums to packages development, to new ethnic and experiencial projects, to Online Platform Support of Marketing for empowering. Moving 1840 women in 10 Women RT Clubs, 2832 Souvenir Network units, 542 Agritourism of whom 102 on the website, 42000 women travelled as part of women friendly tourism initiative”. For those who want to know more, it’s all made official by documents such as: Classification for Resorts, ResponsibleTourism Protocol on Gender, Green Certification, Gender Audit, Gender Inclusive and Women-Friendly Tourism Declaration.
How can a destination be inspired by Kerala's experience? The story of responsible tourism in Kerala is well explained in their website, showing that a participatory process is worthwhile to all, ‘including the principles of accessibility for those with special needs, codes of conduct for management staff and visitors requiring respect for the local traditions, the people right to say no to tourism, ensure action to counter child abuse’, as Goodwin underlines.
And, since women are managing the majority of enterprises and determining leisure travel destinations and bookings, there are strong ethical and commercial reasons to empower women in the tourism sector as both hosts and guests, as Iaia Pedemonte conveyed in her speech.

FEMALE TRAVEL IS A CURRENT TOPIC
In fact, as we know, the number of women travelers is growing very fast.
The news is that also those who travel alone are an enormous share of the market: the growing desire for females to travel alone is expected to be worth $125 billion this year. For sure, 80% of all travel decisions are made by women, once upon a time they did it for the office, the kids' school or the family, but now they buy it for themselves too, mostly on adventure, cultural or nature trips.
An English research which took into consideration 11 different sources, summarized by saying that: ‘The female travel market has increased by 88% in the last few years demonstrating a massive cultural shift as there has been an increasing desire for females to discover the world alone. Women love to visit different places as it gives them a chance to celebrate, reflect, learn, escape and test boundaries’. In fact, it has been found that solo female travelers outnumbered solo male travelers by 67% versus 37%. Travel companies dedicated to woman-only clientele increasing by 230%, 64% of travelers worldwide are female. Solo travel increased from 4% in the 18-24 age group to 25% among those aged 65 and older.
And we know that one of the reasons women are NOT traveling (or are avoiding some destinations), is that they are scared. Then, to keep a destination safe is getting more and more appreciated, both by local and visiting women.

KERALA WELCOMES WOMEN TRAVELERS
It is well aware of these trends Sikha Surendran, Director of Kerala Government Tourism: “By launching the Responsible Tourism (RT) initiative, Kerala Tourism has become a global torch-bearer in building a model of environment-friendly, heritage-preserving and participatory model of tourism. Equally important for Kerala is to become a welcoming, clean and safe destination for women travellers. Kerala Tourism is supporting the development of all-woman tours and women and child-friendly accommodations. Industry initiatives like the ‘SheTravelsSafe’ certification in India to ensure accommodations meet specific safety benchmarks are being encouraged. Transforming infrastructure into safe and hygienic spaces is very important to promote all-woman tourism, both solo and in groups. We also need to make tourism child-friendly since many women often travel with children. Empathy-driven practices ensure that solo travel becomes an empowering and fulfilling experience.
The tourism sector is one of the largest employers of women, offering much opportunities. Women have also found employment as guides, drivers, coordinators, community tour leaders, hospital staff, and operators, thus contributing significantly to the tourism sector. And when women become entrepreneurs, their income increases by 20-30 per cent.
Kerala has more than 1,000 women craft makers, while 17,861 RT Mission units are either managed or led by women. Today, 18000 women are partners of the Kerala Women Friendly Tourism Network developed by the Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission Society.
We need to create a resilient and responsive ecosystem in which safety and security for women and girls remain pivotal concerns. Kerala Tourism has already launched several initiatives to make all our destinations safe, clean and gender-inclusive. The Gender Audit Report is a pioneering step towards meeting the goals for a gender-inclusive and responsible tourism industry. The industry and local community have been onboarded as the agents of this transformation”.
It has been calculated that more than 1000 women craft makers, many guides, drivers, 12,000 managers, 68 destinations are certified safe, 17,000 estates are run by women from grass roots, organizing units, cooridinateurs, community tour leaders.

WHAT HAVE BEEN DONE IN KERALA FOR SAFE TOURISM

How to create a safe ecosystem for all?
Here they started from a study and ended up achieving safety measures: “ The Gender Assessment and Women's Safety Audit - explains Rupesh Kumar K - is a pivotal initiative aimed at evaluating the safety and security of tourism destinations across Kerala. This assessment is being led by the KRTMS and the Government, as part of its ‘Women-FriendlyTourism Program’. The research combines a comprehensive quantitative study of 70 tourism destinations with a qualitative gender audit at five selected sites”.
In fact, the Audit is now a road map for creating safer and more equitable tourism experiences, by identifying both the strengths and gaps in the existing infrastructure,. “From landing at airports or railway and bus stations, to the trips to their tourism destinations or hotels, tourism should be woman-child-mother friendly- said Ms Surendram- from women tour guides, to good toilets, to mother-friendly tourism facilitation centers and hotels, increasing the use of innovative technology in a women-centric manner, creating women-friendly travel networks, and making feedback facilities efficient and responsive – all fall within the scope of this definition”.
The conclusion is that participation, representation, and involvement have been encouraged, infrastructure for specific needs are being installed, awareness programs have been conducted to educate tourists and locals about safety measures and gender equality. There is still a need for more awareness and infrastructure development in rural areas. For the curious: Kumarakom topped the list with 98.72%, followed by Kannur Fort (95%) and Pinarayi (87%), and 27 destinations scored severe infrastructure shortcomings, but working on it.

TAKE NOTE OF K-POINTS
What are the infrastructures and actions to make a safer, more inclusive environment for women? Scattered lighting; emergency alarms in toilets and public spaces; collaboration between police and transports; random checks of cameras and streets; public transport more accessible for all; increase the use of e-rickshaw equipped with safety features; increase the frequency of public transport; increase the hiring of women drivers; communicate and include all in a zero tolerance policy; establish a robust after harassment complaint and support mechanism; partner with locals to identify risks; involve locals to share responsibility; include law, medical, social counselor forces in a crisis response plan.
Last but not least: to be sure that these recommendations can be spread, the first thing is to promote workshops, training programs, partnerships between community led initiatives and government and visitors.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN TOURISM IS EQUAL...
Following the Kerala project, in terms of gender equality impact, it is calculated that 75,000 women will be involved in the future, and 300 villages will benefit from it. Of the first 100 villages currently identified, 30 have already started to implement the RT Mission, which will provide 10,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities. A clear strategy directs this long-term commitment of the State to its people.

...AND THEREFORE IS A SAFE AND LOVED PLACE BY WOMEN
Thats why policy makers, communities and stakeholders signed the Chart that will become an example for all:
Call to Action: We the signatories pledge to:
1. Integrate gender inclusiveness and responsible tourism practices as the core principles in tourism planning, with special focus on women friendly initiatives.
2. Collaborate across sectors and stakeholders to share knowledge, resources, and strategies that advance gender inclusive and women-friendly tourism.
3. Continuously monitor and report on gender inclusiveness and responsible tourism practices, ensuring transparency and accountability.
4. Advocate for policies that protect women's rights in tourism, addressing gender-based challenges and enhancing safety and empowerment.

INFO TO KNOW MORE

Kerala ResponsibleTourism

ICRT The International Centre for Responsible Tourism