Tourism Regulatory Authority of Kerala to refine tourism

Thiruvananthapuram: Four months after unveiling the Tourism Policy, the state government has set up the Tourism Regulatory Authority of Kerala (TRAK) with the mandate to weed out all forms of exploitation in the tourism industry. The Authority was first mooted in the Tourism Policy unveiled in 2017. The Authority will function as the highest body that has the power to supervise all segments of the sector. It will have action teams in every major tourism destination to respond to complaints received by the TRAK.

“The authority will be helpful to end all unhealthy practices and can guarantee better intervention of Kerala Tourism through a scrutiny and licensing system,” tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran. The authority has made a target of 100 per cent increase in arrival of foreign tourists and 50 per cent of domestic tourists in the next five years.

“Besides safety and security, this regulatory committee will also keep an eye on licenses of hotels,” the minister said. He said that the fundamental thrust of the new policy was to improve the quality of tourism experience. The TRAK will be the tool to achieve this end. He said that the composition of the TRAK would be decided after exhaustive consultations. The Policy grants sweeping powers to the Authority.

“The Authority will function as the highest body that has the power to supervise all segments of the sector,” the policy states. It will have the power to strictly enforce the guidelines issued by the Tourism Department. The Authority will also function as a quasi-judicial body, offering timely relief to victims of host high-handedness or misbehaviour. 

The Authority has been given the blanket power to intervene wherever condemnable tourism practices are reported. Further, the Authority will have under its command special action teams that will be formed in each tourism destination to take on human trafficking, child abuse, and narcotics use. The Tourism Policy has set a target of increasing the number of domestic tourists by 50 percent, and foreign tourists by 100 percent, in the next five years.