KOCHI: The harassment of a tourist family by a cab driver recently in Aluva has put the Tourism Department on its toes. K P Nandakumar, regional joint director, Department of Tourism, said directives will be issued to all tour and transport operators, asking them to maintain decorum and decency while dealing with guests. 

"The incident is unfortunate. The Iranian family was travelling in the cab with a young child. The child had accidentally attended the call of nature in the cab. When the driver saw the incident, he lost his cool and told the guests to get out of his car. This is against our policy. We have decided to blacklist the driver and the vehicle owner for a certain period," Nandakumar said. The Kerala HATS has submitted memorandums to the District Tourism officials seeking restart of the hospitality classes imparted on an annual basis to cab and auto drivers. 

"Kerala has had a hard year surviving the aftermath of the floods. Tourists have only started visiting the state. Rude behaviour by cab drivers cannot be tolerated at such a time. We have asked the authorities to bring various stakeholders under one banner and organise awareness classes on how to treat and greet guests," said M P Sivadattan, director, Kerala Homestays and Tourism Society (Kerala HATS). 

According to him, homestay owners are given classes during the start of every tourist season and the same should be replicated among drivers who ferry passengers to places across the city and the state.Nandakumar said the classes will kickstart soon. "Such classes used to be held on a frequent basis during the start of the previous decade.

Also, the Tourism Department had introduced several tourist clubs in schools. This was when tourism was not a popular concept in Kerala. Locals were not as welcoming as they are now. However, the scenario has changed and concepts like responsible tourism are here. The entry of local people into the tourism industry has helped people warm up to tourists. This is why the programme was brought to a hold. However, such an incident is a wake-up call and have started designing modules for conducting the awareness programme. It will soon kick-off," he said. 

Tourism officials said the cab driver has told his version and stated the Iranian family used a doll kept in the cab to clean the mess. "According to him, this is why he lost his cool. However, we do not encourage such behaviour because our mantra is that the guest is always right," Nandakumar added.