As the controversy surrounding the closure of the Eiffel Tower in Paris earlier this week over a staff strike has made headlines internationally, the Indian travel trade fraternity has come out strongly against what it sees as an isolated incident being blown out of proportion. The strike was reportedly triggered by the removal of female staff from guest-facing duties to facilitate the visit of a religious group from India, raising questions around gender discrimination and bias.
The Eiffel Tower was closed on Monday after staff went on strike over the reported removal of female workers during the visit of an influential religious group from India to the world famous monument.
According to reports by international news agencies, Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), the company operating the Paris monument, confirmed that the religious group had requested that the visit be organised to limit “interactions with women”, a move that reportedly angered staff unions at the Eiffel Tower.
While the incident received widespread media coverage and prompted condemnation over alleged gender discrimination, Indian travel trade representatives, who are familiar with such situations and handled many niche groups to international destinations, have questioned attempts to use the episode to “paint Indian travellers” in a certain way.
“If permission was sought in advance to organise the group’s tour in a certain manner and the same was given by the Eiffel Tower management, the current controversy is unnecessary,” said Mahendra Vakharia, owner of Gujarat-based Pathfinder Holidays. If the management had failed to communicate the arrangement to its staff in time, the religious group could not be blamed for it, he added.
Vakharia said he was confident that the group in question, being an organisation of well-educated people, would have obtained prior permission from SETE to facilitate the visit in the manner requested.
As the controversy unfolded, the religious group issued a statement apologising “for any pain or inconvenience caused”, while reiterating that it believes in “the universal values of mutual respect and service”.
Sriharan Balan, Managing Director, Madura Travel Services, Chennai, also described the controversy as “unnecessary and unwarranted”. He pointed out that special courtesy arrangements are often made by countries and destination management authorities when important groups visit destinations or attractions.
Balan recalled an instance when he handled a major religious group visiting Cambodia around a decade ago. During the group’s visit to Siem Reap, local authorities had ensured that meat and fish shops along the roads leading to a popular waterfall were closed as a “courtesy” arrangement.
He also recalled an instance at the Eiffel Tower itself when other visitors were barred to facilitate an exclusive International Yoga Day session for the Isha Yoga group, organised with the facilitation of the Ministry of Tourism,
Government of India, around a decade ago. Such special arrangements, he said, are made as a “courtesy” in several destinations.
“This was an unnecessary controversy,” Balan said, suggesting that there could be an agenda beyond what was being reported.
Ankit Bajaj, a travel and tour operator from Ahmedabad, attributed the episode primarily to a “lack of coordination and communication” between the Eiffel Tower management and its staff union. “If they had agreed in the first place for certain things, the controversy is unfortunate,” he said.
At the same time, Bajaj felt that visiting groups should also learn to “respect the law of the land” and “be practical” when travelling outside India. While reservations around food preferences among Indian travellers are broadly understood internationally, asking for the replacement of women staff for any reason was “not practical” and bound to backfire, he said.
The post Eiffel Tower row unwarranted, blown out of proportion: Indian travel trade appeared first on TravelBiz Monitor: India travel news, travel trends, tourism.
