ALAPPUZHA: As many as 118 tourist guilds picked up by the district tourism promotion council (DTPC) will be on a six-month training by the Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS) in January with the aim of protecting tourists from fleecing and cheating. Twenty members have already undergone the first phase of training.
The benefit of the new endeavour by the DTPC goes to not only tourists but also the flawed system in the industry which has been toothless despite the flood of complaints over the years. Right now, the prevailing system sees unauthorised middlemen, who are nominees of houseboat operators, roping in tourists paving the way for deep-seated fleecing in the industry.
According to district tourism promotion council (DTPC) secretary, C. Pradeep, each person selected by the council must attend at least 8 sessions out of a total 10 classes to qualify for the licence.
“In co-operation with the district police, the new system will be strengthened, providing full immunity to the certified guides. But the licences will not be arbitrary and will be withdrawn when a tourist comes up with a genuine complaint. The army of new tourist guides will swing into action by New Year,” he said.
The complaints of cheating and fleecing have been rampant posing a big threat to the industry. It was in July last year that a group of tourists from Malaysia was charged Rs 60,000 for a ride which was worth only Rs 20,000.
During Mahana-vami day last year, a north Indian couple was extorted Rs 22,000 by an agent for a single bedroom houseboat which plies for just Rs 7,500.
When the tourist asked the houseboat owner for the facilities which the agents offered during booking, the houseboat crew members were helpless to provide it as they had charged only for a normal ride.
Although the DTPC kept encouraging tourists to make use of the prepaid counter that has been functional at the finishing point to address the problem, the middlemen have often succeeded in misleading the tourists.
“We welcome the step taken by the DTPC. The licensed guides that behave rudely with tourists should be disqualified,” Laiju Daniel, a houseboat owner, said.
