21/10/2020
India’s tourism attractions are large and varied. Our culture, which is both amalgamation of different religions, cultures or schools of thought and dates back to ancient times, is our most visible attraction.
The great monuments ranging from that symbol of eternal love, Taj Mahal to the great temples of South India, the majestic forts of Rajasthan as well as the wide and varied landscape of snowcapped mountains, golden beaches, rich forests and verdant deserts all make India an ‘Incredible’ destination. Be it Medical and Wellness Tourism, be it Golf courses and be it Adventure Sports, India has it all.
The villages and the rural economies also have practitioners of unique arts and crafts in their original forms that are hard to come by in the cities. Rural areas are mostly farming communities and in many cases the incomes are not as good as they are in cities.
Many young men and women are increasingly migrating to the cities looking for better opportunities. This has also led to some of the arts and crafts traditionally being practiced in the rural communities dying a slow death.
Rural Tourism is one of the solutions which can cater to all the above questions. Rural Tourism focuses on the visitor actively participating in a rural lifestyle. The tourist travels to a rural location and experiences the life while taking part in the daily activities of the village.
Many cases of rural tourism also include voluntourism in which the tourists spend some time in volunteering and giving back to the community they visit in the form of teaching at local schools, helping out in the farming activities, etc. As a result, the National Tourism Policy of India recognizes that special thrust should be imparted to rural tourism.
Recognizing the potential of Rural Tourism in the country, Rural Circuit has been identified as one of the 13 thematic circuits to provide a unique experience to travelers visiting the country and, develop lesser known destinations located in remote areas of the country.
The development of Bhititharwa, Chandrahia & Turkaulia in Bihar and Malanand Malabar Cruise Tourism Project in Kerala has been undertaken under Rural Circuit theme.
In compliance with the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015, Rural Tourism Scheme was launched in 2002 in partnership of UNDP. • Rural tourism was identified as means for generating rural employment and promoting sustainable livelihood. In the selected sites, community managed village Tourism Development Committees were formed to develop rural tourism initiatives. Community ownership and management is central to the alternative models of endogenous tourism developed across India.
There have now been many success stories of the Rural Tourism model and many of the projects have achieved financial viability. • Notable among them is the Shaam-e-Sarhad project in the village of Hodka in Gujarat, Shaam-e-Sarhad is a tourist camp, built, owned, and managed by the Hodka community.
The award winning Kerala Responsible Tourism projects in Kumarakom, Wyanad and other locations combine a unique model of involving the local community and getting the visitor experience the village life with the local stakeholders as the storytellers.
Another success story is in Sikkim which has empowered many village communities to develop tourism experiences including homestays thus spreading the tourism product evenly and away from the traditional destinations.
The projects in Rajasthan including in Samode and Mandawa have come up on a public-private model.
A noteworthy mention is of the Govardhan Eco-Village in Maharashtra which won the UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation.
Challenges
Some popular Rural Tourism Destinations:
• Kutch Adventures India • Itmennan Lodges Punjabiyat: Farming in Rural Punjab • Ecosphere Spirit: High altitude rural tourism; visits to Buddhist monasteries etc. • Lachen, Sikkim
Ballabhpur Danga, West Bengal: Ballavpur danga, 3KM from shantiniketan, is a Santhal Adivasi tribal community in the pastoral beauty of rural Bengal. • Sunderbans Village Life: The UNESCO world Heritage site with the largest mangrove vegetation in the world is a great attraction for tourists.
• Majuli in Assam
• Pochampally, Telangana: Tourists can have a look at weaving of the famous silk sarees known by the same name.
Shaam-E-Sarhad, Hodka, Gujarat: As part of the Endogenous Tourism Project of UNHDP, this village was selected for rural tourism in 2004. This village is known for its rich embroidery and art work mostly done by women.
• A major achievement of Hodka is that it gave a formal outlook to the Banni (local community) breeders association which led to the recognition of Banni buffalo as the eleventh breed to buffalo of India. The Rann festival also originated from here.
• Naggar, Himachal Pradesh: Naggar in Kulu district was chosen as one of the heritage sites for rural tourism under the Endogenous Tourism Project of UNDP where 5 villages were selected to be developed as tourist sites.
• The weaving of Naggar is famous and that has been used as an unique selling point to attract tourists. • The entire site is run by the local inhabitants and the women are earning extra through their weaving work.
Banavasi in Karnataka where wood carving, artifacts, musical instruments and stone cuttings ensures tourists.
• Raghurajpur in Odisha is known for Pattachitra painters and Gotipura dance troupes, the precursor to the Indian classical dance form of Odissi.
Tanmoy Sharma(Editor)
This post is inspired from the 'Kurukshetra April 2019' magazine.
tourism