Uttarakhand NEWS : “Homestay from Village to Global” dialogue held under Mukhya Sevak Samvad. Homestays are helping in enhancing the natural beauty, rich culture and traditional heritage of Uttarakhand. Homes are becoming the main means of livelihood for the people. The suggestions of the home stay operators will be taken seriously and included in the further action plan. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in the “Home Stay from Village to Global” dialogue program under the Mukhya Sevak Samvad at Mukhya Sevak Sadan in the Chief Minister’s residence on Monday. On the occasion, the Chief Minister interacted with homestay operators from across the state and took their valuable suggestions to promote homestays in the state.
The Chief Minister said that home stay has been promoted rapidly by the state government. Home stay operators are also making the tourists visiting the state aware of the culture, tradition, food, dress of the state along with the good facility of stay. He said the real soul of Uttarakhand resides in the villages. Where a wonderful confluence of natural beauty, rich culture and traditional heritage can be seen in one place. The state government had launched the homestay scheme to boost the local economy and self-employment. Today, the homestay scheme is creating its own identity in the remote villages of the state. More than five thousand families of the state have joined this scheme and opened the doors of their houses for tourists. All those running homestays are brand ambassadors of the state. The Chief Minister said that work is being done to promote the traditional cuisine as well as the cultural heritage of the state by home stay operators in the state. We have to take this identity from the village to the world.
He said that this journey from village to global will be successful only if we all adopt it together and turn it into a revolution of sustainable tourism. 317 (Three Hundred and Seventeen) Homestay Operators have been imparted financial and management training by the Department of Tourism in the year 202425. This training will be implemented in all the districts in 202526. A coordinated “State Task Force” has been formed in the state, which includes Tourism, Panchayati Raj, Rural Development and Health departments. Suggestions from home stay operators. Mrs. Namrata Kandwal, a homestay operator from Pauri district, said that a system of homestay registration should also be made at the block level. School and college students can also be taken on a homestay tour. Mr. Deepak Bisht, a homestay operator from Mukteshwar Nainital said that to promote more and more homestays in the state, the process has to be simplified. There is also a need to work on making it easier for beneficiaries to get loans from banks. Shri Narendra Singh Bisht of Chamoli said that homestay is getting a continuous boost in the state. He said that various homestays should be connected with roads. This will facilitate the movement of tourists and more tourists can come to the homestay. He said that work should also be done for waste management and plastic disposal in homestays. Shri Vicky Rawat of Lansdowne said that homestays should use sustainable architecture as much as possible. We should prepare models of homestays in the state itself. Homestay maps can also be given to other people through the tourism department.
He also urged to pay special attention to the security of homestays. Akhil Pant of Uttarkashi said that the tourism department should run an awareness campaign by meeting the people at the block and village level. Workshops for homestays should also be held in a homestay. Cabinet Minister Shri Ganesh Joshi, MLA Dr. Pramod Nainwal, Secretary Shri Sachin Kurve and others were present on the occasion. Department of Information and Public Relations