The Hindu Business Line : 55 villages selected to promote rural tourism

THE Union Government is focussing on rural tourism to provide a new experience to foreign as well as domestic tourists, Mr Amitabh Kant, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Tourism, has said.

As part of this initiative, India Tourism is implementing a project in 55 selected villages across the country to sell their heritage, culture and art forms. These villages would be provided with Rs 50 lakh each under UNDP assistance to improve infrastructure like building open-air theatres, interpretation centres, shop outlets etc.

Besides, an additional amount of Rs 20 lakh would be provided for developing logistic facilities and starting community participation centres through self-help groups, he added.

Mr Kant, who was here in connection with the 21st annual convention of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), told Business Line that the idea is to create 55 unique experiences to tourists as well as to provide the benefits of tourism to people living in the villages. The Government intends to provide 25 million jobs from tourism by 2007 with the implementation of these projects, he said.

Aranmula, known for its world famous brass mirrors and Kumbalangi, a fishing village dotted with Chinese fishing nets in Kochi, are the two villages selected from Kerala for this venture.

"India, instead of encouraging mass tourism, should concentrate on experience tourism as the country is deeply rooted in culture, heritage, spirituality and traditions. That is why we are moving from 5-star hotels and looking at villages where there is strength of handicrafts, culture and art forms etc," he said.

The department had also started `Adithi Devo Bhava' awareness campaign for taxi drivers and tourist guides to realise the importance of tourism. The department has allotted Rs 10 crore for the programme, which intended to teach them the basics of hospitality and courtesy. Likewise, the department has decided to intensify the tourism package of `Walk with the Buddha' to more States. The idea is to attract tourists bound for South East Asian countries, he said.

It was also decided to open the coastlines in India for cruise operators to circumnavigate the Indian coastline as part of promoting cruise tourism. Star Cruises has agreed to operate in the Indian coast and about 6 new cruise lines have agreed to start operations soon.

Referring to the growth in the tourism sector, the Joint Secretary said that the sector registered a 36 per cent hike in value and 26 per cent growth in volume during the last fiscal. The figure is likely to go up as the momentum is continuing. The challenge is to make India a 365-day destination. The niche packages will help this cause, he hoped.

He pointed out that non-availability of hotel rooms would be a major concern for the sector in the years to come. The major bottleneck is in the metros and the State Government could play a major role in making land availability easier in metro cities, he added.

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