Rural tourism takes root in India

INBOUND agents from India are seeing a growth in demand for rural tourism, especially with FIT travellers from Western societies.

Sita business head Europe, Philip Thomas, said the company has seen a 25 per cent year-on-year growth last year over 2009. “This year, demand is also strong, especially from France, Italy and UK,” he said.

He said rural tourism is a small but fast-growing market. “Many are well-off and well-travelled. They are mentally prepared for the experience. They know the facilities are not as good as hotels, but they seek not so much comfort, but experiences that will make a memorable holiday,” he said.

The company sells farm-stay packages in Punjab and homestays around India. He said some combine a rural stay with community volunteer work, which is also growing in popularity.

Le Passage To India executive director, Khalid Khan, said his company has seen a 20 per cent growth in rural tourism last year, especially from France and Germany. He said many of his foreign clients are those who are already involved in farming and agriculture and they travel to India to study farming practices there.

Red Lantern Journeys is a US outbound agent who sells tours to India. CEO Ambrose Bittner IV said that rural homestays in Kerala are popular with FIT clients between the ages of 40 and 70. “They provide quite good service with families taking good care of the travellers,” he said.

He added that such stays are usually for up to two days and are part of an extension of a longer programme. “Some rural experiences are out of the way. If a traveller spends less than two weeks in India, it is really not worth it. The biggest challenge is logistics and fitting the rural programme into the bigger itinerary.”

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