BENGALURU: Karnataka Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs, Legislation and Tourism HK Patil on Saturday said that work is on to survey and scrutinise homestays in the state. There is a need to ensure they have proper certification for healthy and better tourism, he said.
As Karnataka is working on improving the homestay sector, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, reading out Union Budget, listed various projects for enhancing the tourism sector, including providing Micro Unions Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) loans for homestays.
Patil said that a survey of the homestays is being done by the tourism and revenue departments. There are some points of concern and discussions between the two departments is being held. Certification will be tightened and there will stringent scrutiny of each of the properties.
A Karnataka state tourism department official said, “There are a large number of homestays in the state, mostly in Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru and other parts of Western Ghats. A survey is currently being done in Kodagu. While some of them are genuine a few are not. But now with the Centre including it in the budget, it will give a fillip to the sector. At the same time, it also calls for responsible tourism.”