Multilingual police staff and guides, special app should facilitate foreign tourists: LS Speaker Om Birla

New Delhi, Oct 19 (PTI) Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday suggested training tourist guides and designated police personnel in multiple foreign languages and developing a multilingual app to make tourists visiting India feel at greater ease.

In his address at the opening session of a day-long national conference on tourist police, he asserted that efforts should be made so that not a single crime happens against any tourist.

Top officers of various states and Union Territories attended the conference organised by the Ministry of Tourism in coordination with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Bureau of Police Research and Development at Vigyan Bhawan here.

A senior official of the BPR&D shared a report on the 'Tourist Police Scheme' which also quoted official data on crimes against foreigners reported in India.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, a total of 409 cases of crimes against foreigners including murder, rape and theft were recorded in 2019, with Delhi accounting for the highest 123 cases.

Delhi was followed by Maharashtra (48 cases), Karnataka (46 cases), Tamil Nadu (23 cases) and Goa (21 cases). During the presentation, it was also mentioned that maximum number of such cases pertained to theft (41 per cent of total cases) in 2019. On the sidelines of the event, a senior Tourism ministry official said a uniform tourism scheme is likely to be rolled out by the Centre "by the end of this financial year".

Since law and order is a state subject, so this conference also in a way suggest to them to adopt the new scheme or improve the old ones. Delhi, Goa, Kerala, Rajasthan and Meghalaya have their own tourist police, the official said.

During the conference, the best practices and experiences of some of the states, which have implemented their own tourist police, were shared, officials said.

In his address, Birla said, "Many foreign tourists, especially those in the age bracket of 50 - 60 years, wish to speak in their own language. So it is important to be multilingual as per the needs of the tourists and our policy should factor in that aspect".

As a result, if guides and tourist police personnel can be multilingual or can be taught elementary phrases in multiple foreign languages, a tourist can be better facilitated and they will also feel more at ease during interactions, he said.

"Similarly, an app can be developed in multiple major foreign languages whereby any tourist, when they come to India, can download it to get basic information about tourist places and other necessary information in their language of preference.

"This app can also have a helpline through which tourists can use to reach out to the authorities concerned immediately," the Lok Sabha Speaker said.

Birla said India was endowed with extraordinary natural and cultural heritage sites, besides iconic monuments, but for any tourist, the first and foremost factor in choosing a destination was the country's law and order.

"If a place does not have many impressive or large number of tourist sites, but law and order is good, then a tourist will consider going to that place. But if a place has a lot of natural sites and attractive destinations, but law and order situation is not good, then tourists won't prefer that place as a destination," he said.

Union Minister for Culture and Tourism G Kishan Reddy, in his address, said different states and Union Territories should try to engage in "healthy competition" in implementing the best tourism-related policies to enhance the experience of tourists, both domestic and foreign.

He flagged the harassment faced by many tourists due to a few unscrupulous elements such as middlemen, taxi or autorickshaw drivers who try to fleece them.

Reddy emphasised that all stakeholders must come together to give a good experience to tourists so that they praise India and its hospitality and culture when they go back to their countries.

He also said India's year-long Presidency of the G20 will be a key occasion to showcase the country's culture, heritage, hospitality, ethos and tourist destinations.

During the conference, the report on 'Tourist Police Scheme' prepared by BPR&D was deliberated, and its findings and recommendations were shared with the Home and Tourism ministry as well as representatives of state governments and UTs administrations.

Union Minister of State for Tourism Shripad Yesso Naik, Union Tourism Secretary Arvind Singh, DGs, IGs and other senior police officers and officials from many states and UTs among others were present during the conference.

Naik highlighted that tourism sector contributes around 5.02 per cent of India's GDP and has supported around 14.87 per cent of total direct and indirect employment during the financial year 2018-19, as well as contributed foreign exchange earnings of Rs 2.12 lakh crore (USD 30 billion) in Indian economy during the year 2019, he said.

The objective of the conference was to bring the two ministries, BPR&D and state governments and UT administration on the same platform so that they may work together in close coordination and sensitise them about the specific requirements of foreign and domestic tourists for effective implementation of the uniform tourist police scheme at pan-India level, the tourism ministry said. PTI KND TDS TDS