In push for rural tourism, administration to roll out homestay policy

The Jammu and Kashmir administration is set to roll out a homestay policy to promote rural tourism and offer authentic cultural experiences especially in far-off areas of the Union Territory.

The Department of Tourism conducted a stakeholder consultation through the Directorate of Tourism, Jammu, to gather inputs for formulating a comprehensive home-stay policy for J&K.

The policy will aim to promote rural tourism, empower local communities and offer authentic cultural experiences, while fostering sustainable development and preserving the region’s unique heritage.

Currently, the region operates under procedural guidelines issued on June 30, 2022, for the registration of homestays and paying guest houses.

An official informed that the consultation with the stakeholders marked a significant step toward upgrading these guidelines into an inclusive policy designed to enhance the competitiveness and operational capacity of homestay operators.

The session, chaired by Joint Director Tourism, Sunaina Sharma Mehta witnessed the participation of 23 homestay owners from across the Jammu division. In her address, Mehta highlighted the pivotal role of homestays in promoting cultural and rural tourism while empowering local communities.

She said, “Homestays provide tourists with authentic experiences and serve as a vital tool for community-driven tourism. Training local operators in hospitality services, designing curated packages, and incorporating gender-based incentives and sustainability measures are essential for a robust homestay ecosystem”.

Participants highlighted several key areas of focus, including operational challenges, marketing strategies, financial support, infrastructure development and sustainability practices. Significant suggestions included charging electricity bills for home-stays at domestic rates instead of commercial rates, introducing subsidies on solar panels to promote sustainable energy practices, increasing the permissible number of rooms for home-stays to at least six, simplifying the documentation process for registration, and exempting home-stays from GST to improve financial viability.

Stakeholders also emphasised the need for recognising online platforms that drive significant traffic to home-stays through awards and incentives to boost effective marketing.

The officials of the department assured the participants that the feedback gathered during the consultation would be thoroughly analysed and incorporated into the final homestay policy.