ALAPPUZHA: While the tourism season is gathering momentum, no system either by houseboat owners or authorities has been enforced to eradicate thriving incidents of cheating in the much sought-after backwater tourism sector.
Last week, a group of 150 students including girls from Bhopal was put in a quandary because as many as 30 girls got no room to sleep onboard although they had booked 48 rooms on 8 houseboats spending Rs 1,99,200.
The girls were forced to spend the night in the highly insecure kitchen area and open hall. According to tourism police, the group had got the deal done by a middleman, though online.
“Although the group was offered full facility onboard, in reality the the irresponsible houseboat owners did not provide enough rooms to all the students and asked them to sleep in the highly insecure open hall spaces. After they complained, police intervened and Rs 50,000 was reimbursed by the owners”, said a police official.
However, this incident is not isolated. Several cases of fleecing and stealing have been reported in the past, however most cases go unreported because tourists are threatened against lodging police complaints.
In July last year, a group of tourists from Malaysia was charged Rs 60,000 for a ride by an agent online, but the owner was paid only Rs 20,000.
A few months later, on Mahanavami day, a north Indian couple paid an agent Rs 22,000 for a single bedroom houseboat whereas the existing rate for the same is Rs 7500.
When the tourist asked the crew for the facilities offered during booking, they were in for a surprise. C. Pradeep, secretary, DTPC said tourists sho-uld use the government website to book houseboats in Alappuzha.
“If you feel you have been cheated, you can immediately inform DTPC. We will take appropriate action. Those who hire houseboats should not seek the help of agents. DTPC has a 24x7 inform-ation counter to clear doubts,” he said.
Although the DTPC has encouraged tourists to use the prepaid counter at the finishing point, middlemen have often succeeded in misleading tourists with fake promises.
Meanwhile, a training programme for 118 tourist guilds, selected by the DTPC to end the menace of middlemen is currently underway at the Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies. This group is expected to be out in January next year.
