State Tourism dept to focus on homestays

The Government is giving an incentive of one and half lakh rupees to the homestays on completion of the registration process. We are promoting homestays as well as helping with skill development and promoting homestays through our official tourism website," opined Deb

Amitava Banerjee  |  MP  |  10 October 2020  |  Darjeeling: Homestays are fast emerging as the focal point of the tourism department of the West Bengal government. Along with promoting, the government has announced incentives to encourage people to open up homestays. 

With towns and cities fast turning into concrete jungles more and more tourists are preferring homestays specially set in serene rural areas. 

Homestays are fast emerging as excellent means of livelihood, a boost to the local economy along with generating employment. 

West Bengal tourism minister Gautam Deb visited Mungpoo on Friday. Mungpoo, a picturesque hamlet, 31 km from Darjeeling was one of the favourite haunts of Rabindranath Tagore in the Hills. Homestay owners of Mungpoo and Sitong along with representatives of the Himalayan Hospitality and Tourism Development Network (HHTDN) met the tourism minister and discussed various issues pertaining to homestays in the area. 

"One of the major problems faced by owners of homestays located in the cinchona plantations, tea gardens and forest area is obtaining NOCs required for obtaining a trade license. The trade license is required for registration. The Gram Panchayats and Block Development offices have not been issuing trade licenses for such homestays. A memorandum was also submitted to the tourism minister seeking help in this regard," said Tanmoy Goswami, Coordinator, HHTDN. 

"We will take up the issue with the concerned authorities and departments also. The Chief Minister has been laying a lot of stress on homestays and has instructed the tourism department to promote homestays. The Government is giving an incentive of one and half lakh rupees to the homestays on completion of the registration process. We are promoting homestays as well as helping with skill development and promoting homestays through our official tourism website," opined Deb. 

There are around 3000 homestays in North Bengal out of which only a few are registered. "The State Government will also take up the project of renovating the Surel Bungalow," added the minister. Incidentally, Tagore on his first visit to Mungpoo had stayed in the Surel Bungalow from May 21 to June 4, 1938. The bungalow located in the Labdah division of the cinchona plantation was torched during the Gorkhaland agitation of 1986. 

(Courtesy & source: http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/state-tourism-dept-to-focus-on-homestays-420655)