Kerala Tourism to launch a mobile app to strengthen the countrys first women-friendly tourism initiative

Kerala Tourism will soon release a mobile app to support the nation's first 'women-friendly tourism' project established by the State government to make the State's tourist industry gender inclusive.The material for the app, which will contain all location-specific information and photographs, including the socio-cultural elements of various sites, will be prepared by Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission, the nodal agency for delivering the "women-friendly tourism" initiative.

The initiative was launched by the State in October of last year in accordance with the United Nations Women's "Gender Inclusive Tourism" idea, which envisions women playing significant roles in the tourist industry. It also seeks to provide a range of travel services and packages that are welcoming to women. The launch of the mobile app will signal the start of the project's second phase's operations. The app will include facts on women-friendly tourism goods and packages, resorts, hotels, women-owned businesses, reputable tour operators, women tour operators, travel agencies, homestays, and women tour guides in addition to information on tourism centres.

According to RT Mission State Coordinator K. Rupeshkumar, information in the app would include women-led handicraft and souvenir production and sales units, amenities like restrooms, camping sites, licenced houseboats, caravan parks, and ethnic cuisine units in various locations, festivals, and experiential and adventure packages. In addition to researching the safety of women in tourist destinations, the RT Mission has begun a large information collection operation for the app.

Under the programme, some 1,800 women have received training in a variety of fields. For the elected women representatives from the State, a training will be given in July. "In today's society, it has become common for women to travel alone or in small groups to remote locations. The state's administration has made it a point to foster an environment that is welcoming to female tourists. According to tourism minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas, the app on women-friendly tourism project would make a trip to Kerala for women more pleasurable and hassle-free.The initiative, which calls for the involvement of 1.5 lakh women from the State, is being carried out with the assistance of other organisations, including UN Women. 10,000 women-owned businesses and 30,000 new employment in the tourist industry are the goals it has set.