Tag Archives: rural tourism

The Uttar Pradesh tourism department has signed an agreement with rural homestay providers to offer better experience to the tourists visiting the spots located in rural areas. Visitors will get local experiences like farm stays, cuisine, and folklore. Govt is subsidizing these homestays and converting villages into rural tourism centers.

Manoj K Singh, Director, MPTB, said, “We are already developing few villages and converting them into proper homestays for tourists. Two of the non-negotiable components are ensuring safety of tourist and also maintaining hygiene, which is one of the pertaining challenge.”

Rakesh Kumar Verma, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism said that the Vibrant Villages Program that is being developed in a sustainable manner. For that, we need to keep in mind the carrying capacity of the area and undertake development accordingly.

Ajay Bhatt, Minister of State for Tourism, has said Ministry of Tourism, Government of India also lays great focus on development of rural tourism destinations that aim to preserve and promote cultural and natural heritage while also making sure that tourism leads to sustainable development

Ministry of Tourism has recognised the immense potential of Rural Tourism and has been actively working on promotion and development of this niche area of tourism. The Ministry of Tourism has accordingly formulated a National Strategy and Roadmap for Development of Rural Tourism in India- An initiative towards Aatma Nirbhar Bharat, which has been circulated to concerned Central Ministries, all State Governments/UT Administrations and Industry Stakeholders. 

The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to promote rural tourism to boost economic activities in the state. PC Sharma, Cabinet Minister of Public Relations Department said the state has received Rs 229 crore as initial funding from the Central government for the same. As per reports, the MP government has identified 100 villages that could be showcased for rural tourism. This would involve a great deal of capacity building and training apart from preparing the villagers for rural homestays and other activities. “The objective of development of rural tourism in MP is to showcase rural life, culture, heritage art and craft, handloom and textile. We will select and groom village entertainment groups to unveil the local history and culture, natural and oral treasures, which are major tourist attraction these days,” said Sharma.

Vinod Zutshi, Former Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Nagesh Singh, Former Additional Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, inaugurated the three-day International Conference on Rurality, Ruralism and Rural Tourism – Challenges and Coping Strategies at Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi. Organised by the Department of Tourism & Hospitality Management, Jamia Millia Islamia, the ongoing conference is being attended by delegates from eminent tourism institutes from India and 25 other countries. “Rural tourism is at a nascent stage but there is a lot of scope and potential to promote rural destinations in India. It is an untapped market and we need to identify more and more destinations across the country,” said Zutshi during the conference sponsored by Ministry of Tourism. MP Bezbaruah, Former Secretary, Ministry of Tourism; S K Misra, Chairman, Indian Trust for Rural Heritage and Development and Ex-Secretary, Ministry of Tourism; Sujit Banerjee, Secretary General ,WTTC India attended the event while Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Tourism, Government of Delhi is set to preside over the valedictory function. This conference will help bring various stakeholders on a single platform to discuss future tourism trends, ideas, implications and methodologies, theoretical and practical approaches for rural tourism development. The objective is to discuss the contemporary research in the area of rural tourism. The event will showcase rural life, art, culture, and heritage at rural locations and in villages, which have core competence in art and craft. Handloom, textiles, and also an asset base in the natural environment.

Kerala Tourism has announced the dates of the second edition of International Homestay and Rural Tourism Meet which will be organised by the Kerala Homestay and Tourism Society (HATS). The three-day event will kick start on September 15 in Kochi at Bolghatty Palace. 1500 participants are expected to attend the travel meet as the main objective of the event is to enhance the business opportunities in the state for homestay providers, serviced villas and Grihastelly providing a platform to network with industry players. International Homestay and Rural Tourism Travel Meet is one of the largest B2B events for homestays and rural tourism in the country which will also be attended by national and international tour operators, entrepreneurs and destination management companies. “Homestays are inevitable part of Kerala Tourism and helps the industry to connect with the travel enthusiasts. The B2B meet is expected to discuss recommendations to boost the rural tourism sector.” said P. Bala Kiran, IAS, Director, Kerala Tourism. During the B2B meet, potentials and challenges of the sector will also be discussed via seminars and discussions. This travel meet will also address the changing tourism industry trends and evolving needs of the travel enthusiasts, primarily younger generation, who want to experience the village life and hence prefer to visit rural parts of the country.

After strategic tie-ups with eight state tourism departments across India, Stayzilla gets on board with Agri Tourism Development Company Private Limited (ATDC) to promote Agri Tourism homestays. ATDC is a private organization which stands to endorse agriculture tourism to achieve income, employment and economic stability in rural communities in India. It also helps to boost a range of activities, services and amenities provided by farmers and rural people to attract urban tourists to their area, thus providing opportunity for urban people to get back to the roots. The MoU was signed between Western Region Office of Stayzilla and ATDC Pune Headquarters. Ankit Rastogi, Vice President Marketplace, Stayzilla, said “India is largely an agrarian economy and most of the festivals and culture are centered at agriculture. The real taste of Indian culture lies in the villages and adding agri-tourism to the portfolio is a logical progression. With this collaboration Stayzilla becomes the strongest proponent of experiential tourism in India. Our associations with different state governments also share the same vision towards rural tourism.” Stayzilla will collaborate with ATDC to promote agri tourism by empowering the farmers to market their homestays with the support of Stayzilla’s platform. Under this MoU, more than 300 agri tourism stays will be listed on Stayzilla to provide an enhanced experiential stays for the tourists where they can stay with the local people in the rural areas. The MoU also provides for joint workshops by Stayzilla and ATDC in which the farmers will be trained on travel technology and Agri- tourism. “The sole objective of ATDC is to promote agri tourism by all means possible and take up initiatives that works for promotion of our rural communities. Promotion …