M/O Tourism to ensure Safety & Security of all Tourists

Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge) and Minister of State for Civil Aviation Dr. Mahesh Sharma  has informed. Important source markets like USA, UK, Germany, Australia including Russia have not struck India in particular Goa, from the list of safe travel destinations for their citizens. However, some countries have advised their citizens to exercise necessary precautions while travelling to some parts of India.

As regards the impact on the tourism industry, there is a continuous increase in Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India in the recent past. The numbers of FTAs in India along with growth rate during 2012, 2013, 2014 and January – November 2015 are as follows:-

Year	FTAs (in million)	Growth rate (%)
2012	6.58	4.3
2013	6.97	5.9
2014	7.68	10.2
Jan – Nov 2015 (Provisional)	7.10	4.5

The increase in number of Foreign Tourist Visits (FTVs) to the State of Goa during 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 are as under:-

Year	Foreign Tourist Visits (FTVs)
2011	4,45,935
2012	4,50,530
2013	4,92,322
2014	5,13,592

Details of steps taken/being taken by the Government to ensure safety and security of tourists is placed is given below:-

‘Public Order’ and ‘Police’ are State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. As such, the prevention of crime, including crimes against tourists, is the primary responsibility of State Governments/Union Territories. In order to ensure safety and security of tourists, including foreign tourists, Ministry of Tourism has advised all the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations to deploy Tourist Police in the States/Union Territories. The State Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha have deployed Tourist Police in one form or the other.

In order to ensure safety and security of tourists, including foreign tourists, the Ministry of Tourism has taken following steps:

1. The Ministry of Tourism, on a pilot basis, has set up the ‘Incredible India Help Line’ to guide the tourists.
2. Grant of Central Financial Assistance to Government of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh for setting up of Tourist Facilitation and Security Organisation (TFSO) on a pilot basis.

iii. Adoption of code of conduct for Safe and Hon’ble Tourism, which contains a set of guidelines to encourage tourism activities to be undertaken with respect to basic rights like dignity, safety and freedom from exploitation of both tourists and local residents, in particular women and children.

1. All the Chief Ministers of the State Governments and Administrators of Union Territory Administrations have been asked to take immediate effective steps for ensuring a conducive and friendly environment for all tourists and also request them to publicize the steps being taken/proposed to be taken to increase the sense of security amongst the present/prospective visitors and also to counter the negative publicity, if any.
2. In the wake of some unfortunate incidents involving foreign tourists, Ministry of Tourism has also posted an advisory on its website www.incredibleindia.org.
3. Guidelines on Safety & Security of Tourist for State Governments/Union Territories and Tips for Travellers have been formulated in August 2014 and circulated to all State Governments and Union Territories.  These guidelines have been issued with an objective to help/provide direction to the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations in formulating guidelines for tourists safety and security.  The guidelines also includes ‘tips for travelers’ and  cover the following:

1. Precautions to be taken during pre-travel arrangements.
2. Travel information on calamities / situations by the State Government.

iii.     Identifying, locating tourists in times of emergency.

1. Government communication and inter agency coordination.
2. Regulations of service providers (Transport Services, Accommodation Sector). Regulating leisure and recreational services including adventure sports.
3. Address insolvencies and dispute settlement.

vii.    Enforcement.