Lok Sabha Question No. 4961 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-23
Subject: Safety and Hygiene at Major Tourist Destinations
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: Dr. Prabha Mallikarjun

## 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 local cultural 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 nonChlorofluorocarbon (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.

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