The Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) has made an amendment in the homestay rules to penalise the owner of any homestay found to be operating without registration. With this amendment in the rules, a homestay found operating without registration will be liable for Rs 10,000 penalty. If the violation continues, the person responsible will be penalised Rs 500 per day.
Tourism secretary Dilip Jawalkar informed that the amendment in the rules has been made to ensure that any type of tourism enterprise being operated can be regularised while also facilitating full protection to the tourists.
With the enactment of this rule, the authorised officials will be able to take action against any homestay operating illegally. This will also enable registration of tourists coming to homestays with the information also reaching the Tourism department. Police action will also be initiated against the guilty if the rules are not followed, added Jawalkar. It is pertinent to mention here that the State government aims to register 5,000 homestays before the end of this year. More than 2,000 homestays have been registered across the state so far.
