Punjab wants its tourists to go back to nature once again. Years after Punjab launched its farm tourism project, the State Government is all set to cultivate additional tourists via the scheme.
For the purpose of reviving and promoting the project, the State is organising a workshop from Tuesday in association with United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
The workshop, aimed at discussing challenges faced in implementing the scheme, bringing out more ideas to make it a success and increasing tourists’ footfall, would witness all stakeholders converging on a common platform in Amritsar.
“During the workshop, all stakeholders would come on a single platform to exchange their experiences. Besides, they will discuss how to deal with the challenges and bring meaningful solutions for implementation of rural tourism projects as well as create sustainable development practices in rural areas,” an official of Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board (PHTPB) told The Pioneer.
In the workshop, the agencies implementing rural tourism projects, NGOs involved in rural tourism, freelanced researchers, writers, citizens owing rural accommodation, tour and travel hoteliers operators and other stakeholders will participating.
“The Rural Tourism Workshop would be inaugurated by Punjab Tourism Minister Sohan Singh Thandal on December 1 at Amritsar. It is organised by the state Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs under the Infrastructure Development Investment Programme funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB) in association with UNWTO,” said the PHTPB official.
The official informed that the broad objective of conducting the rural tourism workshop is to increase tourist volume and stay in rural area. “Through this workshop, the stakeholders would share their experience in developing and implementing the rural tourism projects. Discussions will be held on the success or failure stories so that the role models can be identified for future development of rural tourism,” he added.
Besides, deliberations will be held on social and economic benefits of tourism for rural communities, involvement and participation of rural communities in the entire rural tourism development process, empowerment of women, youth and disadvantaged groups through the development of rural tourism and to create awareness among tour and travel operators regarding potential of rural tourism, tourist’s circuits, food and craft trails, in and around established tourist destinations.
“The workshop would cover the various aspects of the farm tourism scheme. There were initial hiccups, but the scheme has been appreciated over the period of time and it is getting good response now. We want to improve it further,” said the official.
Punjab Government, in January 2009, had launched the farm tourism with a great pomp and show, but it turned out to be a ‘flop-show’ even after almost two years of its launch. The tourism official struggled hard to infuse a new life in it. For the purpose, it had also signed a memorandum with the Mahindra homestays that eventually proved a windfall for the scheme.
The State had won National Tourism Award in 2011 for the best Rural Tourism Site in India, which is Bhootgarh in Hoshiarpur district. The PHTPB had also won Best Rural Tourism Initiative Award for ‘farm tourism’ at International Tourism Conclave and Travel Awards (ITCTA) in September 2014.Besides, the state is formulating a cluster of four rural communities in Ropar distrct under UNWTO’s Tourism Master Plan for Punjab 2008-23.
Currently, the PHTPB has invited applications from farm house owners till December 15. At present, there are more than 15 approved farm houses in this scheme and the Board is planning to add more.
“The scheme was launched with the intentions of promoting farm life of Punjab, acquainting them with the warm hospitality, and state’s culture and tradition,” said the official, adding that the farm tourism operator acts as a guide and host to the guests who wish to enjoy the rustic way of life as an experiential tourism.
These farm houses are approved by PHTPB on pre-qualification criteria basis which also come along with certain benefits and special dispensation from Punjab Government.