Deborah Thiagarajan has brought attention to an oft-ignored aspect of tourism—that locals of modest means often do not get to earn from it. Speaking at TNIE’s Tourism Summit, the founder-director of DakshinaChitra Heritage Museum also pointed to young visitors’ thirst for experiences rather than exhibits. Among the initiatives that serve both needs, an NGO’s work in Madhya Pradesh stands out. A year before Airbnb took off, Friends of Orchha started as a community-run homestay in a poorer part of the historic town. The NGO attracted visitors online, constructed pukka rooms and toilets in hutments, and introduced the hosts to the visitors. As the years passed, the hosts automatically paid off the NGO and started running the show themselves. States can easily foster such communities all over the country.
