Inspired by Kerala&rsquos mission of responsible tourism, Madhya Pradesh has decided to formulate a similar model towards uplifting its local villages, eradicating poverty, empowering women, and boosting its domestic industry.
This week, the Minister of MP Tourism, Usha Thakur, will visit Kerala to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with her 13-member high-level delegation.
Followed by a seven-day tour across the state to understand the RT mission model, the team will launch the project in Madhya Pradesh as a 16-point programme.
Introduced in October 2017 as a &lsquotriple-bottom-line&rsquo mission, responsible tourism became a crucial aspect in Kerala&rsquos social, economic, and environmental planning. According to Rani George, the state tourism secretary of Kerala, the mission has managed to establish 20,000 units with 1, 09,000 beneficiaries and has helped the local industry with an income of INR 38 crore. The mission has received several national and international honors, the recent one being the World Travel Market (WTM) award 2020.
The 16-point programme between Kerala and MP comprise various objectives &mdash to help the central state chart an RT masterplan, conduct training for locals, curate a list of criteria for the district council to follow, and facilitate the gradation of resorts, homestays, and tourism clubs around the state.
After the MoU is signed, a delegation from Kerala will visit Madhya Pradesh and help the authorities in the implementation of their new tourism model.
