Parliament Question: Safety and Hygiene at Major Tourist Destinations

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4961 ANSWERED ON 23.03.2026 SAFETY AND HYGIENE AT MAJOR TOURIST DESTINATIONS 4961. DR. PRABHA MALLIKARJUN: Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has identified safety and hygiene concerns at major tourist destinations; (b) the details of the measures taken/being taken by the Government to strengthen tourist policing, grievance redressal and sanitation infrastructure; (c) whether any coordination mechanism exists among the Ministry of Tourism, local bodies and law enforcement agencies to ensure safety and cleanliness and if so, the details thereof; and (d) the details of the steps proposed by the Government to promote “Safe and Clean Tourism” through awareness campaigns, digital reporting systems and stricter regulatory compliance for hotels, guides and transport operators? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF TOURISM (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT) (a) to (d): Safety and Security of tourists is essentially a State subject. However, the Ministry of Tourism has been continuously taking up the matter with all the State Governments and Union Territory (UT) Administrations for setting up of dedicated Tourism Police to strengthen on-ground safety mechanism for tourists. With the efforts of Ministry of Tourism, the State Governments /UT’s viz Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh have deployed tourist police.The Ministry of Tourism along with all stakeholders, including the Tourism Departments of all States and UTs, have adopted the 'Code of Conduct for Safe & Honourable Tourism' which is 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. Ministry of Tourism through the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) portal receives complaints/grievances/suggestions related to service delivery deficiency, cheating etc. The CPGRAMS portal is available to the citizens 24x7 to lodge their grievances related to tourism. The foreign tourists can also register their complaints/grievances on the portal through Indian registered mobile number. The Ministry of Tourism has launched a Comprehensive Sustainable Tourism Criteria for India (STCI) for three major segments of tourism industry, namely Tour Operators, Accommodation and Beaches, Backwaters, Lakes and Rivers sectors. The criterion has been adopted by the stakeholders. The Tourism Service Providers approved by the Ministry of Tourism have to sign a pledge for commitment towards “Safe & Honourable Tourism and Sustainable Tourism” to fully implement Sustainable Tourism practices, consistent with the best environment and heritage protection standards, such that the present tourism resource requirements optimize both local community benefit and future sustainable uses. National Strategy for Sustainable Tourism was formulated by the Ministry and circulated to the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations. In line with the strategy, Travel for Life (TFL) programme was initiated to encourage tourists and tourism businesses to adopt sustainable tourism practices. Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change conducted training programme of 15 days each for 210 persons during 2023-24 on Alternate Livelihood Programme (ALP) and Paryavaran Naavik Certificate (PNC) at five Ramsar sites [Sultanpur National Park (Haryana), Yashwant Sagar Dam and Sirpur Lake, Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Bhitarkanika Mangrove and Chilika Lake (Odisha)]. The convergence of the two Ministries aims at supporting the development of Nature Tourism at the Ramsar Sites for preserving and enhancing the localcultural and natural resources. As per the guidelines of Ministry of Tourism, hotels at the project stage itself are required to incorporate various eco-friendly measures like Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), Rain Water Harvesting System, waste management system, pollution control, introduction of non- Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) equipment for refrigeration and air conditioning, measures for energy and water conservation etc. The Swadesh Darshan scheme has been revamped to Swadesh Darshan 2.0 for integrated development of tourism destinations in partnership with the States/UTs and local governments for promoting sustainable and responsible tourism in the country. “Challenge Based Destination Development”, a sub-scheme under Swadesh Darshan 2.0 aims for holistic development of a destination to enhance tourist experience across all of tourism value chain to transform our tourist destinations as sustainable and responsible destinations. *******