(GIST OF KURUKSHETRA) Rural Tourism to Boost Livelihood

(NOVEMBER-2025)

Rural Tourism to Boost Livelihood

Context:

Tourism has remained a vital driver of economic growth. Visits of tourists to enchanting India from ancient times has been well chronicled. In recent times too, the country has continued to attract tourists. In 2024, over 19 million tourists arrived in India, implying almost Rs. 2.77 lakh crore foreign exchange earnings. In 2023, there were 2,509 million domestic tourist visits.
The contribution of the tourism sector in India’s Gross Domestic Product is 5 per cent. In 2023-24, the tourism sector created 8.5 crore jobs. In 2024, India was ranked 39th by the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Development Index. As per World Trade Organization, tourism commitments have been undertaken by more than 133 member countries, which indicates that most members want to expand their tourism sectors.

Development Tourism

Rural tourism is the epitome of inclusive growth as it not only contributes significantly to national income but also fosters community development. It boosts local industry, increases employment and leverages local unique selling points. By unveiling the natural beauty, culture and simplicity of countryside, it empowers the youth and women. It has positive externalities such as conservation of culture, heritage, rituals, cuisine, biodiversity, etc.

Tourism: The Policy Intent

Three different, yet integral pillars of rural tourism are homestays, destination weddings, and medical tourism. Accordingly, Government policies have focused on facilitating these aspects. Yoga and Ayurveda have been associated with India for centuries. Their significant benefits have always drawn people from all over the world, more so in the aftermath of the pandemic due to recognition of alternative healthcare remedies and a focussed approach for generating awareness.

One of the focus areas of Budget 2025-26 is ‘Tourism for employment-led growth’. The announcements entailed the development of top 50 tourist destination sites in the country in partnership with states. To attain this objective, the following measures are being taken:

Organising intensive skill-development programmes for India’s youth, including in Institutes of Hospitality Management;
Providing Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) loans for homestays;
Improving ease of travel and connectivity to tourist destinations;
Providing performance-linked incentives to States for effective destination management, including tourist amenities, cleanliness, and marketing efforts;
Introducing streamlined e-visa facilities along with visa-fee waivers for certain tourist groups.

Initiatives taken by the Government so far:

Ministry of Tourism’s Best Tourism Village Competition, launched in 2023, encourages villages to become attractive tourist spots, by aiding villages through capacity building sessions and in surmounting challenges of connectivity, marketing and digital infrastructure. Moreover, under ‘United Nations World Tourism Organization’s’ ‘Best Tourism Villages’, Indian villages such as Pochampally in Telangana, Khonoma in Nagaland, Dhordo in Gujarat, Madia in Madhya Pradesh and Dhudmaras in Chhattisgarh have recently benefited.
A report released by NITI Aayog in August, 2025 is based on challenges faced by homestay operators, local communities and regulators from onboarding to operation. It quotes the homestay market in India’s market sales revenue to have reached Rs. 4,722 crore in 2024. The study recommends capacity building for regulators, incentivisation through subsidies, non-commercial rates on utilities and improved ease of doing business.
The Government of India complements the efforts of state governments/UT Administrations undertaken to develop and promote tourist destinations. To facilitate ease of travel to India, e-visas are available to 171 countries under 9 sub-categories, including for purposes of Tourism, Medical, Medical Attendant, Ayush and Ayush Attendant.

Way forward:

It is evident that policies and programmes intend to promote rural tourism through a multi-pronged approach, given that the results are far-reaching and have efficacious spillovers on the rest of the economy.
Economic Survey, 2023-24 quoted a report by Capital Economics which had estimated that Artificial Intelligence could lead to a slowing down of India’s services export growth by 0.3-0.4 per centage points a year over the next decade.
In this context, the Survey recommends that public policy should focus on less skill-dependent tourism sector. Rural areas have a huge potential to attract tourists.

Conclusion:

An integrated approach for developing them, to make them easily accessible, can tap that potential efficiently and enhance their contribution in designing Viksit Bharat.