Today the world is much freer and kinder towards solo women travellers as well as those who prefer to travel with their group of girls. No one raises an eyebrow when they hear or see a woman hiking mountains alone or going on road trips anymore, unlike when the patriarchy ran deep in our society. Having said that we still need to encourage more such female travellers to happily get on their bikes and cars to satisfy their wanderlust. Kerala Tourism is currently trying to set things right for such travellers.
Thanks to the Tourism Department's initiatives, a lot of women are already travelling to little known even destinations on their bikes and cars. This new project will give the much needed push for more women to take out their bikes and bravely set out to see the world.
Currently, the project is being done on an experimental basis at Beypore, Kozhikode, the constituency of Tourism Minister P A Mohammed Riyas. The project took off on March 31 in association with the World of Women group based in Kozhikode.
Independent traveller
The minister expressed plans for expanding the Swathanthra Yathrika (Independent Women Traveller) project across the state in near future. Kerala, he claims is the haven for solo women travellers in India. He also admitted that the tourism sector is currently struggling in the state. The minister also introduced Maya, a Whatsapp virtual assistant by Kerala Tourism. Kozhikode Mayor Beena Philip presided over the function.
The project Swathanthra Yathrika refers to a drive for women bikers who travel across the tourist destinations in Beypore Assembly constituency. There were over 30 participants for the first trip which started from Godeeshwaram Beach.
