To make sure tourism in India is developing in the right direction the stakeholders of the tourism industry in India recently signed a Code of Conduct for Safe and Honourable Tourism at a conference in New Delhi.
27th September has been celebrated as the World Tourism Day. Conferences and banquets are usually held on that day not only to promote tourism, but also to evaluate the impact of tourism on nature and society. This year was no exception and representatives of the tourism industry gathered in New Delhi.
While the 2010 statistics feature very pleasant news regarding the growth of tourism in India, there are many concerns too. Specifically uncontrolled growth and the violation of human rights and minor crime spread are on the list of the vices of tourism growth and the goal of this year's conference was an attempt to put a stop to these.
The Union Minister of Tourism and Housing and Urban Poverty, Ms. Selja Kumari spoke to the visitors and expressed her worries about the lack of tolerance and frequent exploitation of women and children in India. She mentioned the country recorded a significant increase in abuse of foreign women in 2010 and suggested the country adopts a Code of Conduct for Safe and Honourable Tourism. This pledge aims to improve India's profile as a tourist destination and promote sustainable tourism and cultural sensitivity within the service providers and their clientele.
The Code was signed by 150 representatives of the tourism sector and will hopefully become an important benchmark for tourism growth in India. The country and its rich cultural heritage and traditions are too great a spectacle to miss on the account of underdeveloped services or lack of tolerance.