Villages are the backbone of India’s Rural Tourism. The heart of India lies in its village's nature, art, craft, heritage, traditions, customs, costumes, lifestyle, etc. These RuralVillages helps to gain knowledge on agriculture, farming, local governance etc.The rapid and fast movingurban life urges people to move towards the rural areas in search of escapism. RuralTourism villages are the best place to spend some quality time away from hustle and bustle with their family relaxing in a calm surrounding, interactwith each other, engage inage-old traditions, experienceethnicity and creatememories.

For the same, the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has launched the Best Tourism Village Competition. The Competition is focused on ‘Honoring the Soul of India’. The core aim of the competition is to develop the competitive feeling among the villages of India which in-turn will inducesocial and infrastructuraldevelopment.

The major aspirations behind the Best Tourism Village Competition are

• To reduce disparities between development of rural tourism destinations.
• To empower the ruralpopulation.
• To enhance attraction capability and encouragerural change.
• To develop new products and integrate value chains
• To increase the conservation of natural and cultural resources and
• To encourage sustainable methods to make betteruse of resources, reduceemissions, and reducewaste etc.

The competition is developed in three stages: District, Stateand National. The applicationswill be firstly evaluated at thedistrict level and three best tourism villages from eachdistrict will be selected andwhich will further be evaluatedat state and national level.

For anybody interested in rural tourism who travels to rural india and explores it to the fullest, rural homestays serve as their home away from home. Rural homestays are a type of experiential tourism that is important for both rural tourism and development. Along with offering lodging, these rural homestays also enhance the genuine local experience by giving visitors the chance to engage with rural communities, experience rural life firsthand, and learn about the art, craft, food, culture, and tradition of rural india.

Rekha and Kamala homestay is one such home away from home for any rural tourist in ladpura khas near Orchha in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Rekha and Kamala

Two women of the village took the opportunity when the state government announced its rural home stay scheme and with this, they constructed lodgings for visitors close to their house. Then following the pandemic, they significantly outperformed themselves, selling over 75 room nights and earning Rs. 150,000. This homestay is the best example of women empowerment and rural tourism development

Rural culture is honored and upheld in this homestay. A customary song made by the local ladies is used to welcome visitors. Together with the traditional foods, guests can take part in rural activities like walks and games. The motto of the village is "Farm to plate."

The visitor can learn more about agriculture while also receiving farm-fresh vegetables. As the guesthouse is constructed of indigenous materials, the rooms are kept cool. Hence in this homestay where tradition and modernity coexist features authentic local cuisine, a rural setting, and contemporary facilities.

Rupeshkumar K.

State RT Mission Coordinator, Dept. of Tourism, Govt of Kerala

Responsible tourism mission has been formed as the nodal agency for rural tourism, rural homestays, farm tourism, sustainable tourism and other community and women empowerment activities through tourism in Kerala based on the concepts of responsible tourism and lead the various forms of tourism activities comes under rural development and community development.

Rupeshkumar has played an eminent role to develop Kerala as one of the leading responsible tourism destinations in the world. He was an active participant in the mass movements against the unscientific and unethical development of tourism in kerala, especially in kumarakom. He was also a part of the mass activities that demanded alternative tourism activities in Kumarakom becoming part of the Kerala Responsible Tourism Movement from 2007.

Rupesh has since worked as state responsible tourism project coordinator, destination coordinator of responsible tourism, state level responsible tourism field coordinator, saparya tourism project coordinator, alapuzha backwater tourism master plan field coordinator, Kumbalangi and Alapuzha UNDP marketing plan coordinator, and as the Kudumbashree consultant and resource person (women empowerment project by government of Kerala), people’s planning campaign resource person, and member of the monitoring committee of national rural employment guarantee scheme & national cleanliness mission.

Rupesh developed a new tour package model village life experience as part of Kerala responsible tourism which converts traditional livelihood activities as tourism products. These packages have been recognized by the Govt. Of India, as the best rural tourism initiative. Drawing on this experience he developed pepper (people’s participation for participatory tourism

planning and empowerment through responsible tourism), for participatory tourism

street (sustainable tangible responsible experiential ethnic tourism hubs) and model rt villages etc.

All of them created a huge field level result and was awarded by various national and international agencies. Based on his selfless and seamless efforts Kerala rt Mission became a model by generating revenue for 1.5 lakh families in the state. Mr. Rupeshkumar is one of the 5 individuals to receive the outstanding achievement award and is the first Indian selected as the jury member for WTM RT awards. He also received the guiding light award for ensuring women empowerment through responsible tourism activities. He is the state nodal officer of Kerala of rural tourism, rural homestays and sustainable tourism. He is an example on how a grassroot level warrior can become a global leader in tourism sector through the sincere efforts dedicated towards the communities.

Under his leadership, RT Mission has bagged numerous international and national awards like world travel mart responsible tourism awards2017, world travel mart awards-2018, PATA awards 2019, world travel mart responsible tourism awards2020, gold awards by icrt international on september 2022 for destination building back better- post covid, global award from WTM london for water street project.

Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board is responsible for exploring new possibilities, creating trends and enhance tourism infrastructure in the state with an aim to create a surge in the frequency of International and domestic tourists. MP Tourism Board is continuously working towards the implementation of various cultural tourism and excursion programs, which will provide a platform to the local communities to showcase their local art, craft, rich heritage, customs and traditions to its visitors.

With a view to maximise the Community participation and to create a solution-based approach, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has introduced Responsible Tourism Mission, which is based on three pillars- Environment Protection, Socio-Economic stability of communities and Restoration of local Culture by increased participation. Responsible tourism is all about “making better places for people to live in and for people to visit”,

it requires the operators, hoteliers, government, locals and tourists to be responsible and action oriented towards the sustainable development of tourism. The board has implemented various projects to cater the comprehensive growth for the communities, in which Rural Tourism has been focused as a significant project. Rural Tourism develops a strong sense of emotion between the community and tourists; it preserves and promotes the age – old rural culture and heritage of the destination.

Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has currently focused its implementation of Rural Tourism Project in 100 villages, for this a strategy has been adopted where these villages have been developed as tourism villages. The MP Tourism Board is working with the Project Support Organisations which are helping in developing all the components in the selected villages. The selection of these villages is based on the potential and the needs of the village and the community of that particular village and specially; the willingness of the community. In this project the

the whole village is treated as single unit where local communities are motivated to participate in tourism activities, and organize stay for the tourists, which further leads to economic gain. The promotion of local art, craft, and cuisine is bringing a sustainable development towards the nearly extinct traditions and impacting in the economic stability of these communities.

The technical support organisations are giving end to end solutions in souvenir development and promoting a platform to train the communities where they can connect to the outer world and get economically empowered. As of now 16 villages in 20 districts have started hosting guests and providing stay experiences along with other tourism activities, and earning 1- 2 lakh per annum, the coming months will see a boom in rural tourism,

as more villages will come in the line to provide an awestruck experiences. With the development of these rural tourism villages, we have to ensure sanitation and cleanliness in the villages and for this Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board is converging with Panchayat and Rural Development Department, Tribal Development Department, Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) of GoMP, Department of Agriculture, Horticulture, Rural development, Education, Sports, Food, Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board, Public Health Engineering Department, Rural Engineering Services, Police and public private partnerships. nominated by Ministry of Tourism, GOI for United Nations World Tourism Organisations “Best Tourism Village” award category and has earned a milestone for the state. Rural tourism is the next stimulator for the service industry which will contribute to the nation's GDP by encouraging the frequency of the domestic and international visits.

nominated by Ministry of Tourism, GOI for United Nations World Tourism Organisations “Best Tourism Village” award category and has earned a milestone for the state. Rural tourism is the next stimulator for the service industry which will contribute to the nation's GDP by encouraging the frequency of the domestic and international visits. nominated by Ministry of Tourism, GOI for United Nations World Tourism Organisations “Best Tourism Village” award category and has earned a milestone for the state. Rural tourism is the next stimulator for the service industry which will contribute to the nation's GDP by encouraging the frequency of the domestic and international visits.

MP Tourism Board has also signed an MoU with govt. of Kerala and International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT), UK. Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has won 4 Gold and 1 Silver ICRT award and these awards have been received for projects like Rural Tourism, Safe Tourism Destination for Women, Responsible Souvenir Development, Project Humsafar, and Project Clean Destination. Ladpura Khas a village in Orchha tehsil of Niwari district got nominated by Ministry of Tourism, GOI for United Nations World Tourism Organisations “Best Tourism Village” award category and has earned a milestone for the state. Rural tourism is the next stimulator for the service industry which will contribute to the nation's GDP by encouraging the frequency of the domestic and international visits.

Khonoma, Nagaland

The nature of tourism has altered over the past few years. Individuals are searching for unique, lesstravelled locations throughout the world rather than those that are constantly crowded with tourists. Khonoma, a small village with historic and environmental significance which is just 20 km away from the Nagaland state capital Kohima, it is the only village of India which got listed along with 20 other village of the world in UNWTO’s Upgrade Programme.

Khonoma is one of the largest and most historic Angami village of Nagaland. It is believed to be 700 years old village and along with being the first green village in Asia, this location is significant for rural tourism.

Forest is the bloodline of Angamis, they have depended on forest for centuries and hunting was an important part of their culture. But in early 1990s, this part of life went way to serious and dangerous for the endangered Blyth’s Tragopans birds. Because of a hunting competition number of the Birds were killed. Following this widespread killing of this endangered species by villagers, a few of Khonoma's elders who

were interested in conservation started advocating for a protected area. That Resulted in creation of Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary (KNCTS) in 1998. And in 2005 with the successful conservation effect of villagers, this village came to know as India’s first green village.

The Khonoma community and its inhabitants are a major attraction. A fan of rural tourism can uncover surprises around in every corner of this vibrant rural tourism hotspot and these hidden spots of this enchanted village will only become evident to those who are exploring on foot and it is really inspiring and rewarding. The unique stone carvings and a variety of fascinating artefacts, authentic weapons like real rifles and some Naga style paintings are displayed on the wall of the Angami tribe’s many modest and colourful homes and these are the accurate depiction of their way of life. One can also enjoy the zutho or rice beer which is reputed to be warming and nutritious drink.

To know more about the Village life of khonoma one has to visit the key Naga institute and the centre of the social life of Naga society called Morung. In Ancient times this is the place for young Naga boys to learn about their social practices and belief from their elders and it also enabled the members of the institute to watch and protect their village

from sudden attacks from enemies. As the village is nested in greenery and between forest and paddy fields naturally trekking and hiking becomes the part of its attraction. It is the real Heaven for any bird watching enthusiast. Here along with Nagaland’s State Bird Blyth’s Tragopan, other exotic winged wonders like Wren Babbler, Partridge, Jungle Fowl, Spotbreasted parrotbills, Block Storks, and many rarer aves found here.

And this is also a destination to visit or see Hobbit Home. These are underground homes found in hillsides, downs, and banks. Youth of khonoma Asakho Chase who build this Hobbit Home by inspiration from The Lord of the Rings movies, for himself now became a tourist attraction

In Khonoma one can also visit the paddy fields which is in all the direction to the village. Ancient terraced farming and cultivation is a unique agricultural practice of the village. By indulging in the agricultural activities like farming, domestic animal rearing along with the natives one can gain both experience and knowledge about North East rural India’s agricultural practices and techniques. These wide spread beautiful rice field, far off peaks and enormous valleys contributed to Khonoma’s charm.