World Tourism Day: Promoting Rural Tourism Through 'Dekho Apna Desh' Initiative

The Ministry of Tourism has taken various initiatives to make Aatmanirbhar Bharat in tourism sector by improving the domestic tourism and hospitality industry. With a focus on rural tourism, the 'Dekho Apna Desh' initiative has been launched with the objective to encourage citizens to travel within the country. To boost rural tourism, the ministry launched the Best Tourism Villages Competition to honour a village that best exemplifies a tourism destination which preserves cultural and natural assets, promotes community-based values and lifestyles and has a clear commitment to sustainability in all its aspects - economic, social and environmental.

Awards were earmarked for

(i) Best Tourism Villages – Heritage

(ii) Best Tourism Villages – Agri Tourism

(iii) Best Tourism Villages – Craft

(iv) Best Tourism Villages – Responsible Tourism

(v) Best Tourism Villages – Vibrant Villages

(vi) Best Tourism Villages – Adventure Tourism

(vii) Best Tourism Villages – Community-Based Tourism

(viii) Best Tourism Villages – Wellness

In the first edition of the Best Tourism Village Competition held in 2023, a total of 35 villages were recognised as Best Tourism Villages.

Besides Rural Tourism, the ministry has formulated national strategies for promotion of Rural Homestays, Ecotourism, Adventure Tourism, Medical and Wellness Tourism, Sustainable Tourism and MICE industry. The Swadesh Darshan Scheme has been revamped as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0) with the objective to develop sustainable and responsible destinations following a destination centric approach.

The ministry has sanctioned 29 projects involving a total cost of Rs.644 crore under SD2.0 Scheme. It has formulated guidelines for ‘Challenge Based Destination Development’ as a sub-scheme of Swadesh Darshan 2.0 Scheme to enhance tourist experience and to transform tourist destinations as sustainable and responsible destinations. The National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) Scheme has been launched for the development of tourism infrastructure and tourist amenities at identified pilgrimage/heritage destinations in the country.

The Incredible India Tourist Facilitator (IITF) Certification Programme – a Pan-India online learning program accessible from different digital devices, aims at enhancing the overall experience of tourists by making available a pool of local, trained professionals at tourist sites across the country. The ministry has been conducting programmes under ‘Capacity Building for Service Providers’ (CBSP) Scheme to train and upgrade manpower to provide better service standards.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has been approached for inclusion of several tourism routes for providing better air connectivity to important tourist places. As many as 53 tourism routes were operationalised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS-UDAN).

To ensure the quality of services and experience for different classes of both domestic and international tourists, the ministry, under its voluntary scheme of classification and approval, classifies accommodation units, as well as Travel Agents, Tour Operators, Tourist Transport Operators, Food & Beverage Units, Online Travel Aggregators and Convention Centers. 

Under this system, the hotels are given a rating, from One Star to Three Star, Four and Five Star with or without alcohol, Five Star Deluxe, Heritage (Basic), Heritage (Classic), Heritage (Grand), Legacy Vintage (Basic), Legacy Vintage (Classic), Legacy Vintage (Grand) and Apartment Hotels. The Ministry also has voluntary schemes for approval/registration in categories such as Timeshare Resorts, Operational Motels, Guest Houses, Bed & Breakfast/Homestay Establishments, Tented Accommodation, as well as Online Travel Aggregators, stand-alone Air Catering Units, Convention Centres, Standalone Restaurants.

The approval/classification/registration of these units received from the ministry gives them more credibility and their services are preferred by travellers, including international tourists. The efforts by Government in the last decade have helped in improving the country’s GDP through the Tourism sector’s contribution in the pre-Covid as well as post-Covid period, according to information shared by Minister for Tourism and Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in the Rajya Sabha.

Shekhawat also said jobs due to tourism have remained largely stable and are showing a positive trend. While foreign tourist arrivals have reached 85 per cent of the pre-pandemic level, domestic tourist visits have surpassed the pre-Covid level.