BHUBANESWAR: Homestays are the new priority for Odisha’s tourism sector. The state has identified six destinations and invited investors and homeowners to explore opportunities for setting up homestays where they can host both national and international tourists and provide them experiential tourism offerings.
The destinations that have been shortlisted for homestay development are Chilika, Daringbadi, Puri, Satkosia, Koraput and Hirakud. At the recently concluded Utkarsh Odisha, the Tourism department invited investors to explore the destinations for development of homestays. Of the six places, Puri and its nearby areas now have close to 50 homestays but a majority of them are just bed and breakfast facilities.
Officials said places like Koraput, Chilika and Daringbadi have a few homestays that offer experiential tourism. Koraput’s homestays are mostly cottages located within farms and coffee estates that offer coffee trails to tourists.
Currently, the Tourism department is offering benefits to those interested in opening their properties as homestays under the Odisha Homestay Establishment Scheme 2021. A budget of Rs 24.50 crore has been earmarked for this scheme for the 2021-2026 period.
Officials added that while a number of homestays have come up under the scheme, they do not engage the visitors in local experiences which defeats its entire purpose.
Earlier last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that nearly 1,000 tribal home stays will be promoted under Swadesh Darshan to boost tourism and livelihood in tribal areas. Under this, funding will be provided for constructing five to 10 homestays in tribal villages with tourism potential.
Koraput has been selected under Swadesh Darshan 2.0 for destination tourism development. Hirakud, on the other hand, is being developed as a global tourist destination under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme.