Rural tourism

Mattur is a village in Karna- taka where residents speak only in Sanskrit. Maachli in Maharashtra is an agrarian homestay surrounded by Coconut, betel, and banana plantations. The Bishnoi village in Rajasthan has fre- quent visits from the en- dangered great Indian bus-

𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘢 

tard. These are destinations where tourists can immerse themselves in the rural tourism expe- rience that the government is now developing.

-The Central nodal agen- cy, Rural Tourism and Ru- ral Homestays (CNA - RT and RH), the coordinating body among the Centre, the States and other stake- holders, has identified six niche experiences for tou- rists wanting to visit rural India, including agritou- rism, art and culture, eco- tourism, wildlife, tribal tourism, and homestays.

More than 134 villages have been listed, each of which provides a set of un- ique experiences to tou- rists. The list will only grow.

For instance, Tamil Na- du's Kolukkumalai is the highest tea plantation in the world; Kerala's Devalo- kam is a yoga centre on the banks of a river; Nagaland's Konyak Tea retreat takes visitors on a trip through tribal culture; Telangana's Pochampalli village show- cases its traditional weav- ing techniques; and Hima- chal Pradesh's Pragpur village plunges visitors into Kangra architecture. heritage

Depending on the expe- rience, tourists can sample the local cuisine, see how crops are grown, partici- pate in textile weaving, wit- ness folk art being prac- tised, and go on nature trails, all the while living within the community.

𝙏𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙢 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙮 (𝙎𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩) 

The focus of this rural push is sustainability, avoiding large-scale infrastructure development, and without much private sector parti- cipation. Instead, efforts will be to rope in local re- sources and communities to provide a unique organic experience, a senior offi- cial in the Ministry of Tou- rism said.

The Ministry is in the process of formulating a budget, with certain train- ing modules at district le- vels being 100% Centrally financed, and other as- pects being 60% Centre- and 40% State-financed.

While there is a lack of consolidated data on glo- bal rural tourism trends, the U.S.-based market re- search firm Grand View Research estimates that agritourism alone will de- velop at a compound an- nual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.4% from 2022 to 2030.

A key part of the strategy to promote rural destinations would be to identify clus- ters of five to seven villages in close proximity, said Ka- makshi Maheshwari, nodal officer, CNA-RT and RH. A cluster will offer more tou- rist attractions and can al- so aid in marketing of local products.

The Central Nodal Agen- cy has asked the States to identify both individual and clusters of villages hav- ing high potential for tou- rism development. The go- vernment is also looking at Rurban clusters of the Ru- ral Development Ministry, where a cluster of villages that have potential for growth are identified. The Ministry of Rural Develop- ment has also been asked to explore the possibility of creating assets under the MGNREGS for tourist infrastructure.

The government is also exploring organic agricul- ture areas developed un- der the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) and Mission Organic Value Chain Development in North East Region (MOVCD-NER) for develop- ment as rural tourist spots. "Not only can rural tourism revitalise local art and crafts and prevent viable traditional occupations from being displaced, it will also help redevelop ru- ral areas and rejuvenate ru- ral life, create jobs and new business opportunities," the National Strategy docu- ment of Rural Tourism said.