Sumit Pandey wears a smile reminiscing his three-day stay in Ladpura, a hamlet near Orchha in Madhya Pradesh. The rural experiences that he savoured are still alive—and he is planning a revisit in the winters.
“We were a group of 8 family members and this was a truly exhilarating experience. Imagine getting up in the morning and moving around in the farms, making rotis on chullahs. We even planted roses and marigolds on the premises.”
Forget making a trip to Paris and Maldives. How about swapping the luxurious ambience with a rustic, natural flavour—something that takes a slice out of India's rural life? How about experiencing a bullock cart ride instead of taking a ride on a fancy car? How about having rotis baked on chullah and local veggies straight from the farms?
Rural tourism—a relatively new concept has started expanding its base in Madhya Pradesh. The project was kicked off in 2019 and now has around 220 homestays in various villages. The tourists are offered various kinds of rural experiences like farming, milking a cow, drawing water from a well, playing a dholak and even cooking the local cuisines. In the evening there is a cultural feast oscillating through folk songs and dances. The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has defined rural tourism as a type of tourism in which a visitor’s experience is related to a wide range of products generally linked to nature-based activity, agriculture, rural lifestyle/culture, angling and sightseeing. Minesh Dave had stayed in Ladpura village a few months back with his family. “What I liked most was the Bundeli food. It was a blissful feel to live in the rural settings and inhale the village aroma. This is a different kind of tourist experience. Besides being extremely budget friendly, they are clean and the people are very hospitable.”
Uma Pathak a homestay owner in the village acknowledges that four years back she was sceptical about how the concept would fructify. “Today I am happy that I forayed into this business. This has been a learning experience for me. Besides the regular rural experiences, we also teach the tourists on how to make our local cuisines.”
Balbeer who owns a homestay in Madla village in Panna district is also very optimistic about rural tourism. “Since the last three years, the tourist graph has grown.”
Kamlesh Yaduvanshi, who has a homestay in Sabarwani dittos, says; “There are some days when the bookings are robust but there are also lean days. The village excursions offer tourists a unique insight into rural life, allowing them to connect with the local communities.”
Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board actively promotes rural tourism currently with its various activities.
“We have embarked on an ambitious journey to promote rural tourism. This endeavour adopts a unique cluster-based approach within each cultural zone, placing the community at the heart of the initiative, This community-driven and community-led approach, holds immense promise for sustainable development, cultural preservation, and authentic experiences,” says Sheo Shekhar Shukla, Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board.
The Board has been implementing the project and has mapped a strategy to tap its potential for increasing the number of tourists. Marketing is still a challenge for these homestay owners and a multi-pronged plan should be chalked to rope in various stakeholders.
“This initiative represents a powerful model for responsible tourism, fostering economic growth while safeguarding local traditions and empowering the rural communities. By promoting rural tourism, Madhya Pradesh is not only enriching its cultural tapestry but also creating a more inclusive and economically vibrant state for both its residents and visitors," said Manoj Singh, Director (Skill), MPTB.
Rural tourism has helped increase community participation, especially women in the tourism sector. Besides social development it has also helped economic growth in rural areas.
A recent study — The benefits of tourism for rural community development—published in Nature journal shows that using rural tourism as a revitalisation strategy is beneficial to non-urban communities in terms of their economic, socio-cultural, environmental, and leisure and educational development.
“The contribution from the economic perspective is particularly important. These findings suggest that national, regional, and local governments or community developers should make tourism a strategic pillar in their policies for rural development and implement tourism-related development projects,” notes the study.
(Edited by : C H Unnikrishnan)
First Published: Sept 27, 2023 7:30 AM IST
