Not much time has passed when the J&K Government has come up with a new initiative to boost tourism and provide livelihood opportunities to people living in the far off but beautiful places in the Union Territory. It was expected that this innovation will be a great hit as people will throng to relatively new tourist destinations but with the passage of time, these home-stay options have proved to be non-starters at many potential areas due to various factors with poor connectivity remaining the biggest spoilsport.
J&K started focusing on home-stays to cater to increasing tourist rush in places which were confronting dearth of tourist facilities but after a good start, things came back to the earlier spot with this new initiative proving to be a non-starter. Still there is a time to re-initiate, re-launch and rejuvenate the novel initiative as the idea has started picking up with the prospective visitors.
Something somewhere lacked and with abysmal inputs and nil or minimal support of the concerned departments, this concept in the tourism sector in J&K may meet its fate which came to fore with much fanfare and hope.
The tourism has grown manifold times in J&K during 2022 as compared to 2021 and the benefits of this bumper arrival of tourists to the UT should have been trickled down to all, especially locals of various tourist destinations but to surprise of one and all, only the conventional tourist destinations saw the rush of visitors with very less number of tourists opting to go for tourist spots offering facilities which do not support traditional edifice rather promoted things like homestays and other adventurous options.
The concept of Home-stays is spreading around the world, as this newly devised business model is well availed by the travellers taking huge advantages. Tourists prefer to have an overall tourism experience rather than just visiting tourist attractions. In India, the trend of homestays is gaining traction in states such as Sikkim, Uttrakhand, and Kerala because it provides an authentic local cultural experience while also providing good value for money. Destinations that lag behind in terms of tourism infrastructure can compensate by introducing homestays as a form of accommodation for tourists that does not necessitate large investments. The concept is also environmentally friendly because it modifies existing infrastructure while putting little strain on the environment. Homestays would also provide employment opportunities to the local communities and generate income for the local community from various sources such as transportation, food and beverage, shopping, and so on as a result of the multiplier effect.
Jammu Kashmir formally adopted the concept in August last year with the objective of enhancing livelihood opportunities in rural areas as part of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' initiative. In collaboration with the OYO group, the J&K Government has successfully established 280 homestays in the Union Territory. It is worth mentioning that in 2022, the Union Territory witnessed a record-breaking influx of 1.88 crore tourists, marking a significant milestone in the history of Jammu and Kashmir.
However, the feedback is not that enthusiastic as the visitor often complained about the non-availability of electricity when required in evenings and mornings; motorable road to the nearest point of destination, health and medical facilities in some pockets and communication and internet facilities in certain hilly areas etc.
The homestay options must rope in other tourist facilities because just spending nights should not be the sole purpose of such facilities. Definitely added facilities are the need of the hour to provide a wholesome experience to tourists to increase days of stays or else this new facility would not last longer without arrivals of visitors seeking homestay facilities.
The time demands that the shortcomings in the homestay system should be rectified as soon as possible or sooner than later these facilities will become extinct and shall snatch away the opportunity to experience the splendid beauty of places in the UT which are still unexplored but full of natural beauty.
