Recognizing the immense potential of rural tourism in the country, Ministry of Tourism has formulated National Strategies for Development of Rural Tourism and promotion of Rural Homestays in India.

The Ministry of Tourism promotes India in a holistic manner, through various initiatives. As part of the on-going activities, promotion of various tourism destinations and products including Rural tourism and Rural homestays are taken up.

In addition, the Ministry of Tourism has identified Rural Circuit as one of the thematic circuits under its Swadesh Darshan Scheme. The details of projects sanctioned under Rural Circuit of the scheme are given at Annexure.

The Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme has been initiated with the objective of developing sustainable and responsible destinations following a tourist & destination centric approach. Under this scheme, Rural Tourism Cluster Experience project has been sanctioned at Gunji, Uttarakhand.

The Government has approved the initiative to develop tribal home-stays under Swadesh Darshan Scheme, as part of ‘Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan’. The said intervention includes development of 1000 homestays with support of upto Rs.5 Lakh per unit (for new construction), upto Rs.3 Lakh (renovation) and Rs.5 Lakh for village community requirement.

This information was given by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
 

Annexure

PROJECTS SANCTIONED UNDER RURAL CIRCUIT OF SWADESH DARSHAN SCHEME

(Amount in ₹ crore)

S. No.	Name of State	Year	Project Name	Amount Sanctioned	Amount Released
1.	Bihar	(2017-18)	Development of Gandhi Circuit: Bhitiharwa- Chandrahia- Turkaulia	44.27	40.31
2.	Kerala	(2018-19)	Development of Malanad Malabar Cruise Tourism Project	57.35	45.88
			Total	101.62	86.19

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As per the 3rd Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), 2015-16, the percentage contribution of tourism sector to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2018-19 to 2022-23 is given below:

Tourism GDP	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Total Share in GDP (in %)	5.01	5.18	1.50	1.75	5.00
Direct (in %)	2.61	2.69	0.78	0.91	2.60
Indirect (in %)	2.40	2.49	0.72	0.84	2.40

The above estimates are updated using National Account statistics 2024.

Ministry of Tourism has taken several initiatives over the years for development of tourism sector in the country. Some of these key initiatives are:

1. The Ministry of Tourism under the schemes of ‘Swadesh Darshan’, National Mission on ‘Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD)’ and ‘Assistance to Central Agencies for Tourism Infrastructure Development’ provides financial assistance to State Governments/Union Territory Administrations/ Central Agencies for the development of tourism related infrastructure and facilities at various tourism destinations in the country.
2. The Ministry of Tourism has revamped its Swadesh Darshan Scheme as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0) with the objective to develop sustainable and responsible destinations following a tourist & destination centric approach.
3. Financial assistance has also been provided to the State Governments/UTs for organizing fairs/festivals & tourism related events under Domestic Promotion & Publicity including Hospitality (DPPH) Scheme.
4. Dekho Apna Desh initiative launched with the objective to encourage citizens to travel within the country.
5. Thematic tourism like wellness tourism, culinary tourism, rural, eco-tourism, etc. amongst other niche subjects are promoted so as to expand the scope of tourism into other sectors as well.
6. With an aim to enable lawful inward movement of foreigners including foreign tourists, Government has taken a number of initiative over the last few years to liberalize, streamline and simplify visa regime with a view to facilitate the legitimate foreign travellers. Facility of e-Visa for 07 sub-categories i.e., e-Tourist visa, e-Business visa, e-Medical visa, e-Medical Attendant visa, e-Ayush Visa, e-Ayush Attendant Visa and e-Conference visa for the nationals of 167 countries has been provided. Visa fee has also been substantially reduced.
7. For improving air connectivity to important tourist destinations, Ministry of Tourism has collaborated with Ministry of Civil Aviation under their RCS-UDAN Scheme. As on date, 53 tourism routes have been operationalized.
8. Ministry of Tourism is running Pan-India Incredible India Tourist Facilitator (IITF) Certification Program, a digital initiative that aims at creating an online learning platform with the objective of creating a pool of well trained and professional Tourist Facilitators/Guides across the country and generating employment opportunities at local level.
9. Conducting Programmes under the ‘Capacity Building for Service Providers’ (CBSP) Scheme to train and up-grade manpower to provide better service standards.
10. Ministry of Tourism also launched a national responsible tourism initiative by the name of ‘Paryatan Mitra’ and ‘Paryatan Didi’. The initiative encompasses providing tourism related training and awareness to all individuals who interact and engage with tourists in a destination.

This information was given by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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