Planning for rural tourism in Pranpur

Abstract

The Indian tourism sector is one of the largest service industries in the country in terms of its contribution to GDP and Foreign Exchange Earner, as well as for providing employment to millions. India is currently ranked 12th in the Asia Pacific region and 68th overall in the list of the world’s attractive destinations. Tourism can be categorised into two types- 1. Mass Tourism- Tourist destination which is popular and is visited by mass 2. Alternative Tourism- Alternative or special interest tourism is ascribed such attributes as-  limited-scale  low-impact  community-based  raised-awareness Rural Tourism is a type of alternative tourism. It encompasses- 1. Agriculture Tourism 2. Heritage Tourism 3. Cultural Tourism 4. Eco Tourism etc. The development of a strong platform around the concept of Rural Tourism is definitely useful for a country like India, where almost 70% of the population resides in its 5.5 lakh villages. Also, the percentage contribution of agriculture in GDP is decreasing farmers need alternative employment options. Rural Tourism- Any form of tourism that showcases the rural life, art, culture and heritage at rural locations, thereby benefiting the local community economically and socially as well as enabling interaction between the tourists and the locals for a more enriching tourism experience can be termed as rural tourism. Ministry of Tourism launched Rural Tourism Scheme in 2007 to showcase rural life, art, culture, and heritage at rural location and to promote socio-economic benefits of tourism to rural areas. 36 sites in 20 states were selected as pilot project under Rural Tourism Project. Pranpur is one of those 36 sites. The project has boosted the demand of local handicraft, that is the Chanderi silk and thus have improved the income of weavers but the condition is still not good. 50% of total population still lives below poverty line. The village was a ‘zero tourist area’ before the project but after the project tourist started pouring in although not as expected. Pranpur has a whole lot of potential to attract tourists which are not tapped properly. After the opening of the project in 2008, the tourist came in to visit the place but the trend of tourist inflow has decreased over the time of period. The reasons being lack of  advertising,  maintenance of tourist spots  basic and tourist infrastructure  Sufficient accommodation. The study aims at promoting rural tourism in Pranpur by developing the village by improving basic services as well as providing tourist based infrastructure. The objectives of the thesis are to: 1. Identify tourist potentials of Pranpur. 2. To identify gaps in basic and tourist infrastructure on the basis of norms and standards. 3. Provision of tourist and basic infrastructure