NEW DELHI: To honour ‘soul of India’ and efforts made to preserve natural and cultural resources, the ministry of tourism on Thursday launched an initiative—the best tourism village competition. Union tourism minister G Kishan Reddy also unveiled a rural tourism portal on the occasion. The objective of the website is to showcase the potential of rural tourism and inform about stakeholders’ initiatives and strategies of rural, tribal villages and homestays.
The best villages selected through three-level competitions—district, state and national—will be recognised as Best Tourism Villages by the ministry. The nationally awarded village will be featured on different portals including government websites.
“Villages recognised as Best Tourism Villages will benefit from the national recognition as an example of a destination that promotes its associated landscapes, knowledge systems, biological and cultural diversity, local values and activities,” said the ministry. The nine-point evaluation criteria have been aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, said the officials.
“Best tourism village competition was formulated to develop and promote rural tourism. The initiative is to showcase the potential of rural tourism and stakeholders’ programmes. Best tourism village aims at honouring the soul of India; competition focuses on harvesting the competitive feelings among the villages which need rural development, community well-being and preservation of natural and cultural assets,” the officials said.