(GIST OF KURUKSHETRA) Recommendations to Encourage Rural Tourism

[JUNE-2022]

Recommendations to Encourage Rural Tourism

Before investing in the rural tourism project, availability study of the destination should be conducted, indicating whether the rural tourism project will be successful.
Instead of creating many rural tourist destinations for development, handful of projects can be picked which have a popular
craft being practiced, or a popular culture being present at the destination, which in turn would be a special attraction for tourists to visit the destination. These popular themes may include handicrafts, folk music, dance, puppet shows, theatre/street dramas, organic farming, herbal, yoga, and meditation centers, ecozones within or around the village, and/or any unique feature (such as the Kila Raipur Sports Festival, Punjab).
Connectivity to the rural tourism destination is a major problem and should be the primary focus of the implementing agency.
Extensive advertisement through all forms of media (more specifically social media) should
be an integral part of the rural tourism development programme. Any project without an advertising campaign should not be sanctioned unless the rural tourism destination is already very famous amongst tourists. Apart from it, it is necessary to introduce segment-based advertising where each and every segment (like millennials) should be treated as the different target group.
Location of the rural tourism destination is also one point for the checklist of successful tourism destination. The rural tourism projects should be in the vicinity of famous tourist spots so that it can attract more and more tourists.
Assiduous implementation and maintenance of hardware and software components of the project is necessary.
The destinations should be developed as a whole instead of just creating partial infrastructure and providing a few pieces of training to the artisans/ beneficiaries. Focus should be on creating an experience for the tourists instead of building monuments and hotels which cannot connect to the local vibe of the destination.
The Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model for developing rural tourism destinations may be considered as an enabler for both the developers and investors for boosting tourism in rural areas and also in development of these areas as a result, the socio-economics condition of the local population will
effectively improve.
Rural Tourism is in the gambit of many ministries like rural development, culture, environment, and tribal welfare and hence the convergence of schemes must be considered for a holistic approach.
For the successful implementation of rural tourism projects, the participation of local village Panchayat and local stakeholders is crucial.