'Atithi Devo Bhava': The guest is equivalent to God ; this is a famous phrase in Indian culture. This means that we should treat, respect, serve and feed guests just as we do to God. Since ages, we have been following this system. Just as we treat guests to our homes so well, we also have to treat them nicely when they come to the collective home of all Indians-India itself.

Tourists have various interests. Some like art and literature, some history, some nature, some citylife and some rural life. To see all this, they need not travel to different countries, they can just come to India, because India has it all. No wonder there are about 6,500,000 tourists visiting India every year.

This evergrowing number is supplemented by those who help the tourists. Indians are known to have a big heart. They not only have the above mentioned phrase in their culture but they also follow it because it is inscribed in their hearts. Indian people have helped these tourists in many ways. They feed them in their own houses even if they might have to go hungry to bed. In places where there is little accommodation, villagers provide shelter the tourists in their own houses. They also guide tourists in case they are lost. But on the other side of the coin there are some who do not understand the importance of good hospitality. There are several instances of cheating of tourists by local people. Because of some of these people, the visitors have a wrong impression about India. Sellers are likely to sell their goods at a higher price to these tourists. Even drivers, with private taxis or hired cars charge way more than they deserve

Visitors generally carry more valuables and money with them than others. Hence there arises a problem of theft. A very common way is picking pockets. Pickpocket are likely to be found in areas of high crowd which include markets, malls, trains, queues, etc. Another way of robbery, which is quite dangerous, is also very prevalent in India nowadays. Bikers are known to speed just by pedestrians, pulling their necklaces and other ornaments of gold and valuables.

It can be prevented or damage can be minimised by simple yet effective steps. The basic idea is to follow the PAT Principle- Prepare, Alert and Think.

Be prepared by having a proper insurance of your valuables. Doing a little bit of research about the areas you are visting and the level of safety there can help. Try not to concentrate all you money in one place, but to distribute it in different pockets or in some bags.

Always be alert no matter where you are. Experiments have concluded that people who look more alert and aware than the others have a lower probability of being robbed. Do not take help from those who offer too much help.

Think before yo react to a situation. In case you have been robbed, do not go and fight quickly with the person suspected. They might be in gangs and if you fight you might end up injuring yourself and posing a potential threat to your own life. Always remember that you can earn again and cover up for the loss but we can not get another life if you lose this one.

Along with our tourists even the people should understand that by doing such things, they are giving a wrong impression about our beautiful country, to those who have come to admire it. I have complete faith that if everyone including the government think in favour of tourism development and tourist safety, then we may add to the always exciting experiance of touring this great nation.

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Devansh Ponda, IIK Young Contributor