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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF TOURISM
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1578 #
ANSWERED ON 12.02.2026
TOURISM REFORMS
1578# SMT. SADHNA SINGH:
SHRI SUJEET KUMAR:
Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:
(a) the key initiatives undertaken to strengthen tourist safety and confidence, including
coordination with States and local authorities;
(b) the measures taken to promote digital tourism services, unified platforms and
technology-enabled visitor facilitation mechanisms;
(c) the reforms introduced to improve ease of travel and affordability for domestic and
international tourists, including policy and regulatory interventions; and
(d) whether the Ministry has assessed the impact of these measures on tourist footfall,
satisfaction and overall growth of tourism and if so, the details thereof?
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.
As a part of the Ministry’s continuous endeavors to make travel for tourists safe and secure,
the Ministry of Tourism has set up a 24x7 Multi-Lingual Tourist Helpline on the toll free number
1800111363 or on a short code 1363 in 12 languages including 10 international languages for
domestic and foreign tourists to provide support service in terms of information relating to travel in
India and to offer appropriate guidance to tourists in distress, while travelling within India.
Ministry of Tourism has been periodically requesting all State Governments and Union
Territories for availing the benefits of the ‘Safe Tourism Destination for Women’ under Nirbhaya
fund which can be utilized for projects specifically designed to improve the safety and security of
women tourists.
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.With a view to bring in more transparency, accountability and improved service delivery, the
Ministry of Tourism introduced an online system of receiving, processing and conveying/ granting
approvals for classification of accommodation units and recognition of Tourism Service Providers.
Applications can be filed at the portal of National Integrated Database of Hospitality Industry
(NIDHI+), i.e. nidhi.tourism.gov.in. This online process has also been integrated with payment
gateway.
Effective and adequate connectivity is one of the important aspect for developing a tourist
destination. Ministry of Tourism is working very closely with Ministry of Civil Aviation for
improving the air connectivity to important tourist destinations and to lesser known/new destinations
with high potential. It has coordinated with Ministry of Civil Aviation under their Regional
Connectivity Scheme (RCS-Udan) and sharing the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) amount for the 53
tourism routes identified for this purpose.
At present there are fourteen (14) sub-categories of e-visa and the scheme is now available to
the nationals of 175 countries and is valid for entry through 38 designated airports, 16 designated
seaports and 02 land ports.
The Ministry has not undertaken a dedicated impact study specifically examining the impact
of these measures on tourist arrivals, satisfaction, or overall regional growth.
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