By J.V. Siva Prasanna Kumar
Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Tourism Department has embarked on an ambitious plan to weed out touts in the guise of guides and at the same stroke project the correct image of Tamil Nadu to domestic and foreign tourists. As a first step the department would authorise 400 persons to serve as guides at various tourist destinations across the State.
"We have received overwhelming response to our guides training programme scheduled to commence next month. 400 persons have evinced interest in undergoing the training," State Tourism Minister N. Suresh Rajan expressed and added the exact number of guides to serve a particular tourist destination hinged upon the number of persons willing to work there.
Speaking to this newspaper on Sunday, Mr. Suresh Rajan said the department would streamline the functioning of the tourist guides and make them accountable. Their conduct would be constantly monitored and complaints against them would be viewed sternly, he said.
The new guides to be authorised next month would be provided with licence and identity cards renewable annually. "We will not hesitate to cancel their authorisation or identity cards if their conduct was found flawed," the minister said.
The trained guides would be posted at all major tourist destinations as part of an exercise to brand Tamil Nadu as the "tourism destination" of India. The guides would market the tourism potential through "authentic guide service" to visiting foreign nationals and domestic tourists.
Chennai, Mahabalipuram, Kancheepuram, Tiruchi, Thanjavur, Madurai, Rameswaram, Kanyakumari, Kodaikanal and Udhagamandalam are among the destinations figuring in the first phase for the authentic guide service lacking there.
Applicants in 20 to 40 year age group would be trained by the state Tourism Department in association with the Anna Institute of Management.
E.o.m. 18.02.07.
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