Tourism is a very important economic, sociological and ecological factor of the society. As we know, it is the fastest growing industry across the Globe. Apart from foreign exchange earnings, it provides employment opportunities. My Teacher (Dr Riyaz Ahmad Qureshi) a Professor at Department of Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Studies, University of Kashmir rightly use to say in the class”. Tourism is just like a sky and all the activities under this sky are directly or indirectly related to tourism”. The remarkable growth rate in tourist arrivals and tourism receipts are attributed to the technological, economic, social, cultural, ecological, institutional and political developments of the post-World War II era. As per Bureau of Immigration, Government of India almost 17.91 million international tourist arrivals were recorded in the year 2019.As for as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, more than 1.5 crore tourists visited Kashmir since January 2022. There are many types of Tourism just like Sustainable Tourism, Eco-Tourism, Responsible Tourism, Heritage Tourism, Cultural Tourism and so on. In this article,I am going to discuss Rural Tourism because, apart from government ,somewhere writers also ignored this type of Tourism so for.I will give you a critical idea about the concept of Rural Tourism and how it could be used as a tool to reduce unemployment rate, divert the attention of tourists from over visited places to novel places and to revive our lost culture. The world population lives predominantly in large cities with a lot of concrete, asphalt, skyscrapers, carsnoise, polluted air, fast tempo of urban life, stress etc. Have the people enough reasons to become tourists? Tourists increasingly look for new space, adventures and experiences. The answer to big disturbances on the beaches and narrow coasts the tourists have found themselves spontaneously in the same way as they used to find wild coastal regions. Such areas offering natural possibilities for the real rest tourists have found in villages. Rural tourism includes a series of activities, services and adding contents in the organization of the rural population. It is developed mostly in family farms. This tourist product offers the tourist demand of the village environment thermal springs, rivers, lakes, hospitality, life values of the native population. It is the alternative to mass tourism because it attracts tourists interested in rural cultures and the environmental quality. Rural tourists watch trees, not skyscrapers; they walk through the forests, not in the city streets, breathing flowers instead of smog and listening to chirping of birds instead of squeaking of car brakes. Rural tourism means any form of tourism that showcases the rural life, art, culture and heritage at rural locations, thereby benefiting the local community economically and socially as well as enabling interaction between the tourists and the locals for a more enriching tourism experience can be termed as rural tourism. Rural Tourism is essentially an activity which takes place in the countryside. It is multi-faceted and may entail farm/agricultural tourism, cultural tourism, nature tourism, adventure tourism, and eco-tourism. As against conventional tourism, rural tourism has certain typical characteristics like; it is experience oriented, the locations are sparsely populated, it is predominantly in natural environment, it meshes with seasonality and local events and is based on preservation of culture, heritage and traditions.
Rural Tourism in India: Rural tourism is gaining importance in Indian tourism with its economic and social benefits. It is estimated that Rs.4300 crore additional revenue can be generated through rural tourism. It is going to play a vital role in bridging the gap between Rural and Urban India by balancing urbanization and counter urbanization syndromes. The government, of late, has realized what the rural India can offer to the world. The Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007)has notified Tourism as one of the major sources for generating employment and promoting sustainable livelihoods. The Union ministry of tourism in collaboration with UNDP has launched the Endogenous Tourism Project in the year 2004, linked to the existing rural tourism scheme of the government. The UNDP has committed $ 2.5 million for the project. UNDP will help in areas of capacity building, involvement of NGOs, local communities and artisans forge strong community-private and public sector partnerships. The government has decided to develop necessary infrastructure for facilitating rural tourism. The Ministry of Tourism has formulated a ‘Draft National Strategy and Roadmap for Development of Rural Tourism in India’, an initiative towards “Atmanirbhar Bharat.”It is driven by the spirit of ‘Vocal for Local’, rural tourism can contribute significantly to the mission of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
What Can Rural Tourism contribute to our society? Rural tourism, while still only a little tourism market is making a valuable contribution to rural economies. It’s contribution can be expressed not only in financial terms, but also in terms of jobs, contributions towards funding conservation, encouragement to the adoption of new working practices, and the injection of a new vitality into sometimes weakened economies. Potentially rural tourism promises some of the following benefits to rural development:
Job retention: Rural tourism cash flows can assist job retention in services such as retailing, transport, hospitality and medical care. It can also provide additional income for farmers, and, in some cases, for foresters and fisherman. Job retention is not as politically glamorous as job creation, but by helping the viability of small communities, it is critical to the survival of marginal areas.
Job creation: Job creation typically occurs in the hotel and catering trades, but can also take place in transport, retailing, and in information/heritage interpretation. Studies in Britain suggest that job creation varies by enterprise type. Farmhouse accommodation and bed-and-breakfast can create up to 23 jobs per $128370of tourism revenue. Job creation effects are less marked in hotels and caravan/campsites, yielding approximately six jobs per $128370of revenue.
New Business Opportunities: Tourism generates new opportunities for industry.Even those rural businesses not directly involved in tourism can benefit from tourist activity through developing close relationships with tourist facilities where local foods can be used as part of the tourism offering in a locality. Rural tourism facilitates expansion of complementary businesses such as service stations and new businesses are created to cater to tourist needs for hospitality services, recreational activities and arts/crafts.
Opportunities for Youth: The tourism industry is often promoted as an exciting and growing industry suited to the energies and enthusiasm of young people.Career options are enhanced with the opportunities for training and direct involvement in running tourism businesses, especially those within small communities.
Service retention: Visitor information services can be provided by existing outlets,such as shops,thus increasing income flows if payment is made for acting as information outlets.Services can also benefit by the additional customers which visitors provide.Finally, tourism’s importance to national economies can strengthen the political case for subsides to help retain services.
Community diversification: Community diversification is an important activity in many upland and climatically marginal regions. Forest regions have suffered serious socio-economic problems in recent years, partly because of the mechanization of tree felling and processing, and partly because of falling prices following reduced timber demand. Rural tourism can assist forestry by diversifying income sources for forest communities if the special qualities of the forest environment for recreational use are realized and developed.
Preservation of Rural Culture and Heritage: In rural tourism the sense of place is a fundamental element for both the tourists and host community’s feelings of what makes the area attractive to visit and live in.This sense of place is maintained partly through rural museums which play a vital role in preserving heritage.
Increase arts and crafts sale: Arts and crafts have a special place in the cultural heritage of regions and nations. Many commentators have noted that tourism can assist arts and crafts, both by recognizing their importance, and by purchasing craft products. Income flows from these activities are well documented. Support between the arts and tourism can be a two-way process. Many communities now use arts and crafts festivals as a marketing mechanism to encourage visitors to come to their areas.
Environmental improvements: Environmental improvements such as village paving and traffic regulation schemes, sewage and litter disposal can be assisted by tourism revenues and political pressures from tourism authorities. This helps to develop pride of place, important in retaining existing population and businesses, and in attracting new enterprises and families.
Conclusion: There is no doubt to say that Kashmir has a great market of Rural Tourism. If a proper marketing plan is done for rural tourism, it could bring lots of benefits to our society. As we know, we live in a region where unemployment touched the sky. A place where professionals are also unemployed in a huge number. This type of tourism can bring some hopes to them with the support of high authorities. It could also be a sustainable revenue-generating project for the rural development of our government. It can help inflow resources from the urban to the rural economy. It can prevent the migration of rural people to urban areas. Environmental management, local involvement, sound legislation, sustainable marketing, and realistic planning are crucial for the development of rural tourism. Rural tourism will emerge as an important instrument for sustainable human development including poverty alleviation, employment generation, environmental regeneration and development of remote areas, and advancement of women and other disadvantaged groups. Apart from promoting social integration and international understanding it can help inflow resources from the urban to the rural economy. Both short-term and long-term planning, implementation, and monitoring are vital in avoiding damage to rural areas.
(The author is presently working at the Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure Studies, University of Kashmir. Views are his own)
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