THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ambitious K-Home initiative of Kerala Tourism is gaining steam with the tourism department submitting a comprehensive set of guidelines and standard operating procedures to facilitate the transformation of unoccupied homes into budget friendly tourist accommodations.
Announced in the recent budget, K-Home is going to be a new tourism product that aims to tap into the state’s large inventory of vacant houses particularly those owned by NRIs and convert them into viable short-stay lodging facilities for travellers.
As per a rough estimate prepared by the state government, there are around 10-15 lakh unoccupied or vacant houses. Tourism Minister P A Mohammad Riyas said that K-Home will be rolled out soon.
“Preparatory works are under way for the launch of the K-Home initiative. K-Home is expected to become a key product that will strengthen Kerala’s tourism sector. It is envisioned as an upgraded version of homestays,” he said. According to official sources, the committee constituted by the department has finalised the guidelines for launching K-Homes.
“We have submitted it to the government. Once the guidelines are approved, immediate steps will be launched to roll out the initiative. The guidelines are intended to bring clarity to stakeholders and house owners on how to enrol and be part of the scheme,” said the official.
The state government has earmarked Rs 5 crore for the project and the tourism department is planning to pilot the project in a 10- km radius of all major tourism destinations in the state.
“We need to build a safe platform for the property owner and registered tourism operator to connect. There will be a verification process for the operator. Also the house owners need to have a clear idea about what all documents need to be produced to enrol their property for the scheme,” said the official. Once the guidelines are approved, the authorities are planning to launch a survey in a 10-km radius of the tourism destination to find out vacant houses.
According to officials, the domestic arrivals are increasing year after year and K-Homes will help add more affordable accommodation units for the domestic tourists.