Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said the Central Government has undertaken several initiatives to enhance safety and security for tourists across the country.

The Ministry of Tourism has urged states and Union Territories to deploy dedicated tourist police. So far, states including Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, and others have established tourist police units to improve on-ground safety.

To support tourists, the ministry has launched a 24x7 multilingual tourist helpline (1363 and 1800111363), available in 12 languages, including international languages, to assist domestic and foreign travellers.

The ministry has also encouraged states to utilise the ‘Safe Tourism Destination for Women’ initiative under the Nirbhaya Fund to improve safety infrastructure for women tourists. Additionally, the ‘Code of Conduct for Safe & Honourable Tourism’ has been implemented to promote safety, dignity, and protection from exploitation.

To improve transparency and service delivery, the ministry introduced the NIDHI+ online portal for classification of accommodation units and recognition of tourism service providers.

Further, the government is working with the Ministry of Civil Aviation under the UDAN scheme to enhance air connectivity to key and emerging tourist destinations, with 53 tourism routes identified.

India currently offers e-visa facilities to nationals of 175 countries across 14 categories, with entry permitted through designated airports, seaports, and land ports.

The minister noted that no dedicated impact study has been conducted yet to assess the effect of these measures on tourism growth and satisfaction.