Maharashtra’s Directorate of Tourism instructs Regional Officers for maximum participation in UNWTO Best tourism village award

Directorate of Tourism (DoT), Govt. of Maharashtra,   has issued letters to all the 6 Regional Officers (ROs) and 33 Zilla Parishad Chief Executive Officers (CEO) instructing maximum participation from villages in Maharashtra in UNWTO Best Tourism Village Awards. As per the letters issued, applications for participating in the contest have to be submitted before 15^th May, 2022, in English.

To be eligible , a village must:

• Have a low population density and a maximum of 15,000 inhabitants
• Be located in a landscape with an important presence of traditional activities such as agriculture, forestry, livestock or fishing
• Share community values and lifestyle

Villages can apply in any of the three categories mentioned by UNWTO:

1. Best Tourism Villages
2. Upgrade Programme
3. Best Tourism Villages Network

The online applications received will be evaluated on basis of the following areas:

1. Cultural and Natural Resources
2. Promotion and Conservation of Cultural Resources
3. Economic, Social and Environmental Sustainability
4. Tourism Development and Value Chain Integration
5. Governance and Prioritization of Tourism
6. Infrastructure and Connectivity
7. Health, Safety and Security

Milind Borikar, Director, Directorate of Tourism (DoT) informed, “We have given instructions to appoint officers/staff at Panchayat Samiti level to help villages in filling the online applications. Last year when UNWTO had launched this award, Pochampally village of Telangana had bagged it. This year we are trying for maximum number of participants from Maharashtra.”

For more information, please visit www.unwto.org/tourism-villages/en/