The ‘Sankalp: Safe Tourism Campaign’, which is set to be implemented in Madhya Pradesh, has been approved by the Central Ministry of Women and Child Development Department under the ‘Nirbhaya Scheme’.
It will be implemented by the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board in collaboration with UN Women, Women and Child Development, the Police Department and the Urban Development and Housing Department.
Initially launched as a 15-day campaign, which ran from August 10 to 25, the aim of the project is to create a favourable environment for women by training them and raising awareness about their safety, ensure opportunities for women in the tourism sector and to improve sustainability.
This initiative is part of the ‘Safe Tourism Destination for Women’ programme that was conceived by the efforts of the state tourism board. It is focused on grooming women in sectors including driving, guards, hospitality, photography, self-defence, and more.
To be implemented in a phased manner across 50 tourist destinations, which will be divided into 20 clusters, as part of the campaign, 40,000 women in and around the locations will be trained for self-defence to make the destinations safer for women tourists.
The project will also train 10,000 women in hospitality-related job roles, which is expected to enhance their direct participation in the tourism industry. Soon, the women who have received the training can be expected to take up jobs such as boat operators, and storytellers, among others.
Referring to the campaign, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board Rural Tourism Director, Manoj Singh, said that as part of the plan, women have started receiving training at Omkareshwar (situated 80 km from Indore).
He added that the second phase will include Maheshwar and other waterbodies where tourists prefer boating. Reports state the first batch of trained boat operators could well begin their career within the next two months if things were to go as planned.
Speaking about the initiative, the Tourism Principal Secretary of Madhya Pradesh, Sheo Shekhar Shukla, said that they are committed to making the destinations safe and tourist-friendly.
He further stated that they are implementing an ambitious project of training 10,000 women in hospitality-related job roles and enhancing their direct participation in the tourism industry and that they are also training 40,000 women in and around 50 destinations on skills of self-defence to make our destinations safe for women travellers.
Called the Sankalp: Safe Tourism Campaign, it aims to make 50 tourist destinations in the state women-friendly