Rural Homestays - Promotion of Rural Homestays

Are you stressed from your daily work and routine? Do you feel you need a break, then why not go to a completely different environment? Ever thought of visiting a rural place for a holiday? You must be wondering what I mean so here we shall talk about rural tourism in this article. Rural Tourism depicts the rural life, culture, art, and heritage of the rural populace benefitting the local community economically and socially. 

Rural Tourism is all about living a rural lifestyle for a while. This includes taking part in regular activities. It is also about imbibing the traditions and culture of the area. Rural Tourism focuses on agricultural tourism, cultural tourism, nature tourism, and ecotourism, they are all aligned together. Rural Tourism allows promoting sustainability and responsible tourism in the country. It will help in rural re-development and helps the tourists to expand their horizons and knowledge. There is a lot of difference in lifestyle when it comes to rural and urban lifestyles. The village usually has a slow life compared to urban life where it is busy and hectic. Rural Tourism can help you to rejuvenate and expand your horizons.

Now rural homestays are currently in the trend. Let us go through the features of homestays.

Features of Homestays 

Host

• Host refers to the person staying at the homestay to provide services and good hostage. 
• The host must not be engaged in criminal activities or any sort of fraud.

Location

• Rural homestays will be in rural areas, with natural surroundings and cultural vibes.

Village and Community 

• The homestays need to be organized and in support of the village panchayat. 
• There should be some welcoming practices for guests i.e. performing arts and cultural activities. 
• The local community should be inclusive in various activities as well.

Accommodation is another feature to be considered important while looking for homestays.

House

• House must be clean and safe.
• There must be facilities for electricity and a clean water supply. 
• The building material should be vernacular architecture and local identity. 

Guestrooms

• Ensure that they must be properly ventilated, well furnished, and
• Have basic amenities. 

Toilet

• Provide preferably a western toilet attached to the guestroom.
• Warm and cold water both should be provided for baths. 

Kitchen

• The kitchen should be clean and ventilated.
• Utensils should be clean and kept in a dry place. 

Cuisines

• Meals are an essential part of homestays. 
• Homestay should preferably serve local cuisines to the guests. 
• To attract guests, food should be organically selected and prepared. 

Hygiene and Safety

• The host must maintain personal hygiene as well.
• Guests must be served safe drinking water.
• All rooms, corridors, kitchens must be clean and free of odor, dirt and, and dust. 
• Toilets must be regularly cleaned.

Waste Management

• Dustbins must be kept in washrooms, rooms, and common areas. 

Local Activities

• Homestays should conduct various local activities keeping into consideration the socio-cultural environment, environment, and geographical location of the place.

Basic Communication with the guest

• The host must be humble to the guests and welcome them traditionally. 
• The host must not use any inappropriate words making the guests uncomfortable.

Rural Tourism is aligned with Aatmanibhar Bharat 

Prime Minister calls out for the slogan “ Vocal for Local Products”. Aatmanirbhar Bharat is all about promoting local products and services with the slogan “vocal for local “. It consists of five pillars of the economy 

• Country’s culture
• Traditions 
• Crafts 
• Heritage 
• Agri-practises 

It is essential to create jobs at the grass-root level. Developing and promoting local products through tourism can help in generating income and jobs in the rural areas thus empowering local communities. Coming up with an idea is essential but without implementation, it is nothing. For that, we need a roadmap. It is essential to address problems and rural tourism aims to prioritization of rural tourism at the national level. 

The six strategic pillars are - 

• Benchmarking of State Policies and best practices 
• Capacity Building of Stakeholders
• Developing clusters for rural tourism 
• Digital platforms for rural tourism 
• Marketing support for rural tourism 
• Governance and Institutional Framework 

SWOT Analysis For the Development of Rural Tourism

SWOT Analysis is essential for the development of rural tourism. 

Strengths

• Culture, music, dance, and heritage 
• Well-developed agriculture and farms to stay 
• Preferable climatic conditions and biodiversity 
• India has huge -scope in terms of Ayurdev, Natural -Reserves, Eco-tourism, Wildlife-tourism 
• Rural areas are accessible due to the expansion of road infrastructure 

Weaknesses

• Lack of prioritization for rural tourism at the State and National levels
• Poor Service Quality and lack of implementation 
• Poor coordination of tourism initiatives 
• Lack of Planning and community involvement
• Lack of Tourism Awareness  in rural areas     

Opportunities

• Generation of Jobs
• Leads to sustainable and responsible tourism
• Indigenious knowledge systems
• Volunteer Tourism
• Promoting Marine Tourism
• Promoting Eco-Tourism
• Promoting Agri- Tourism
• Promoting Leisure Tourism

Threats

• Social and cultural influencers
• Environmental degradation
• Lack of well-planned approach

The development and promotion of rural tourism involve diverse stakeholders. 

Key Stakeholders are:-

• Central Ministries
• State Governments
• Panchayati Raj Institutions
• Local Community
• Non-governmental organizations
• Industry

Various Ministries are involved in the development of rural areas

Various Ministries are involved in the development of rural areas. In order to develop the tourism potential of rural areas various state central schemes must be converged to create a major impact.  We need to know the various ministries to be utilized for rural tourism

Ministry of Tourism:

• The Ministry of Tourism is responsible for tourism in the country. 
• It implements various schemes for the creation of infrastructure, marketing, and promotion initiatives.

Ministry of Rural Development:

• The  Ministry of rural development is working towards sustainable and inclusive growth for the culmination of poverty by increasing livelihood opportunities.
• The Ministry of Rural Development is an important stakeholder in the development of rural tourism and contributes toward the objective through various schemes implemented by the Ministry. 

Ministry of Environment and Forests:

• The Ministry of Environment is responsible for the implementation of policies relating to the conservation of the country’s natural resources including lakes and rivers, biodiversity, forests, and wildlife.
• The Ministry can provide valuable guidance and direction for utilizing natural resources for sustainable and responsible tourism in rural areas.

Ministry of Culture:

• The Ministry of Culture is responsible to preserve, promote and disseminate all forms of art and can even contribute to promoting culture and heritage in rural areas and help in attracting tourists.

Ministry of Development of North-East region:

• It is responsible for matters concerning the planning, execution, and monitoring of development schemes and projects in the North Eastern Region.
• The Vision is to accelerate the pace of socio-economic development in the region.

Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship:

• It provides skill training initiatives. The Ministry and National Skill Development can help with various skill development initiatives for rural tourism.

Ministry of Textiles:

• It ensures the promotion of handicrafts and handlooms that are concentrated in rural areas.

How to market support for rural homestays? 

Digital Marketing 

Today, it is all about social media and social media networking. There is a great emphasis on social media regarding rural homestays as a tourism product. The platform “ Incredible India “ is a great platform for promotion. 

Overseas Marketing

Rural homestays shall be promoted under the Incredible India  Campaign and through India tourism offices, awareness can be generated.

Partnership within Industry Stakeholders and Online Platforms 

Marketing should partner with online platforms to benefit from networks and marketing expertise.

Why is Laluri recommended for rural homestays?

• Laluri is a village which is located in Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India. Laluri is considered the best homestay in India. It is a small village located in the north Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is a place where local culture is the most prevalent and people live the simple and idyllic life they dreamt of. 
• Laluri is in the foothills of the Himalayas and it is serene. If the day is clear, you can see the snow-capped Himalayas.
• Laluri has traditional houses all scattered up a mountainside. 
• Laluri is an authentic village, there aren’t any hotels or restaurants. There are only village people living their regular lives.
• Being a part of a village even for just a while imparts local knowledge to you. You even get to learn local languages and culture.
• The best part is, you get private rooms for a relaxing stay. You are all away from the hustle of your daily lives.
• People are very amiable and warm.

Now that we know enough about homestays and it even seems interesting, let us look at the eligibility criteria.

• People owning a house in the state sparing at least 1 room and a maximum of up to 6 rooms for tourist accommodation. 
• Registration shall be provided only if the owner or promoter along with the family are physically living in the same unit. 
• At Least one of the family members should know how to communicate in English 
• Houses part of important  tourist destinations shall be considered at utmost priority.

Certification Required for registration -

• A certificate from the local authority is to be submitted along with the application. 
• Police Clearance Certificate from the local police station to be submitted along with the application 
• All applications should be complete including the application form, application fee, NOCs, checklist, etc. 
• Amenities and services will be evaluated against the checklist and score sheet by the committee.

Criteria for Selection

• Location of the homestay
• Quality of the homestay and the surrounding areas in terms of facilities and hygiene offered to the tourists 
• Nearby Tourist Destination
• The educational and professional background of the applicant 
• Tourist attractions of the area

Committee for classification of the homestays 

• SDO of the respective district - Chairman 
• Deputy Director of Tourism 
• District-level tourist committee
• Representative of Institute of Hotel Management 
• Representative of HRAA
• Representative of IATO
• Representative of the local body in which the unit is located
• District Tourism Officer 

Documents to be submitted along with the application 

• Permission from the local authority 
• Proof of Ownership
• Location plan showing access to the building from major roads 
• Photographs of the building including interiors 
• Police clearance certification from the local police station

Conclusion

In this article, we threw light on the rural homestays and how they can be helpful to increase rural tourism, thus benefitting the rural and most integral populace of the country. This provides you a great opportunity to know your own roots and interact with the culture of one part of your nation. Moreover, the awareness must grow and should reach out to foreign tourists expanding the foreign relations and exchange in our country. Hopefully, the article provided some insights and gave you an idea about rural tourism. You can refer to our website Corpseed to know anything about either registration or licensing. We shall be glad to help you.

Read Also - Bed and Breakfast Scheme - Homestay Registration Online