The Ministry of Tourism under its voluntary scheme of classification of Incredible India Bed & Breakfast Establishments classifies fully operational rooms of homestay facilities in the country, including those located in the State of Uttarakhand. Homestays are classified under two categories- Gold Category and Silver Category based on the extant Guidelines issued by the Ministry.

The Government of India has announced collateral free institutional credit of Mudra Loans for Homestays in the Budget Announcement for 2025-26 to assist and encourage setting up of homestays across the country.

Additionally, the Government approved the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan for improving the socio-economic condition of tribal communities, and development of 1000 homestays is a part of the scheme. The States/UTs can avail assistance of a maximum of Rs. 5 Crore for 5-10 homestays per village in a village cluster of 5-6 villages, subject to eligibility as per the Guidelines issued.

The Ministry of Tourism has put in place the Scheme of “Capacity Building for Service Providers” (CBSP) to provide education, training and certification to the tourism service providers and hospitality sector including homestay owners,  to up-grade manpower at every strata of tourism industry in order to capitalize the vast tourism potential of the country to the fullest, and provide professional expertise to the local populace as well as create fresh opportunities in the tourism sector both in urban as well as rural areas.

The Ministry of Tourism through its Incredible India website aims to enhance the digital outreach of the varied tourism offerings across the country, transforming it into a one-stop digital information and service platform that serves all hospitality, travel & tourism related needs of a tourist.

The private players in the industry have launched various online portals or OTAs which offer booking facilities, including booking of homestays.

This information was given by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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Sunil Kumar Tiwari

tourism4pib[at]gmail[dot]com

(Release ID: 2146395)