Incredible India Campaign Becoming Rural

Launched about two years ago, by Department of Tourism, Govt of India, Incredible India campaign got awesome response from tourists across the globe. The unique campaign played a major role in the growth of tourism industry of India. Seeing the success of Incredible India campaign, the Indian Government has decided to add over a dozen of rural tourism sites to attract global travellers. According to an official of tourism department, the new sites are going to be added to the ‘Incredible India’ campaign with the aim to provide a glimpse of real India to tourists from world over.

This past week speaking at a rural workshop Tourism Secretary S. Banerjee said, "While 36 rural tourism sites have been earmarked to come up in the country, of which 15 have already come up, another 14 will start functioning from this October." Banerjee mentioned that "Rural tourism is being given the ministry's highest priority, as it is an innovative tourism product and also benefits the community. Rural tourism products all over the country have now received a fresh, wider projection with 14 more rural sites getting ready, after the first 15 of the ministry's 36 UNDP-partnered rural sites became ready last year."

Elaborating further he said, "The employment potential of tourism has been widely accepted. It not only has socio-economic benefits for rural communities, it also gives support to languishing arts and crafts while showcasing the rich culture and diverse cuisine of the sites. The focus is on promoting tourism that is sustainable, in harmony with the surroundings and promotes art, craft and culture."

Meanwhile Banerjee advised the stakeholders to find effective marketing arrangements, including tie-up with the travel trade at the regional, national and international levels. According to Banerjee the Rural Tourism sites that are almost complete include Hodka (Kachchh district in Gujarat), Kumbalanghi (Ernakulam district in Kerala), Naggar (Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh) and Ballavpur Danga (Birbhum district in West Bengal).

Other sites that would be complete by October 1st this year are Kazhugumalai (Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu), Jageshwar (Almora district in Uttarakhand), Nagarnar (Bastar district in Chhattisgarh), Raghurajpur (Puri district in Orissa), Anegondi (Koppal district in Karnataka) and Mukutmonipur (Bankura district in West Bengal).