(a) whether tourism industry is affected badly by the organised gangs;
(b) if so, whether the Union Government propose to formulate any scheme to protect the tourism industry from such gangs; and
(c) if so, the preventive measures taken by the Government for the safety of tourists?
MINISTER OF TOURISM AND CULTURE (SHRI JAGMOHAN)
(a): No, Sir.
(b): Does not arise.
(c): To provide security and safety in general to the tourists, Department of Tourism, Government of India has addressed all States/U.Ts to introduce suitable legislation and deploy special Tourist Assistance Force or Tourist Police which could assist tourists and provides security to them. Some of the States which have already set up Tourist Police are Goa, Kerala, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. The Department of Tourism, Government of India has also set up a Complaint Cell to receive complaints from the tourists and redressal of the complaints is regularly monitored.