To enhance the availability of accommodation in the rural tourist destinations, Ministry of tourism has introduced Home stay facilities. The main thrust is to provide a clean and affordable place for the tourists including an opportunity to the travellers to stay with Himachali families to experience native customs & traditions and relish authentic local food.
To tap rural tourism, this scheme was launched by the H.P. Government in 2008 and is a big success by far. Architectural design, Cleanliness, Facilities, Hygiene, Location, Security, Surrounding environment and Tourist safety measures are some of the prerequisites to be considered before the registration of home stays. Home stays are usually exempted from service tax and are proving a good income source to the rural folks. Every traveller who wishes to escape the overcrowded city areas must experience these untapped places to relax and rejuvenate.
Homestays are a good host to experience the offbeat destinations, exploring new culture, meeting new people, making new friends, trying native cuisine, watch cooking process, learn a new language and gain local experiences. Above all you feel like home and have all the comforts of your home with a personalized environment. If you wish to know and experience the true meaning of ethnicity and culture, one must stay close to nature and homestay is the best option for this. Since homestays are managed by the locals they can be your perfect guide to suggest the unique activities one can engage in and around the place.
Government should work on relaxing rules to encourage more people to offer homestay facilities to tourists and attract more and more of tourists to remote locations thereby promoting tourism in respective areas.
