The World Is My Oyster
Women Exclusive|January 2018

This 34 year old tour coordinator may come from a traditional family setup in Madurai. But her unconventional career choice has made her a trail blazer in the travel industry. IM Krithika talks to Usha Mary - one of the first woman tour guides of south India.

The World Is My Oyster

“Initially I wanted to get into the tourism industry because of my husband Aathi, who works as a tour coordinator. His experiences excited me to pursue a career in tourism even as I worked as a lecturer in a private Arts college in Madurai” says Usha Mary, who recently delivered a speech about her experiences as a tour guide at the ‘Women in Travel Awards’ event in Australia.

Usha started out as a part time tour coordinator arranging local tours in Madurai for foreigners during weekends. But her passion for travelling was clearly evident and she wanted to build a full-time career in the travel industry. Her husband was thrilled, but her in-laws and parents were completely against this decision.

“They told me that married women should only go for safe jobs like teaching and that I would lose my honour in the society if I became a tour guide. I was also fed up of the constant pressure to have children and the social stigma associated around fertility treatments. So with just my husband’s backing, I went against my entire family and became a full-time tour coordinator with a travels in 2016”

Though Usha was passionate, coordinating elaborate south Indian tours single-handedly was definitely a demanding task.

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