Homestay tourism
In many villages of Jammu and Kashmir, homestay tourism is picking up during the current season.
The government initiated promotion of homestay tourism in the UT by launching Panchari as the first tourist village with homestay facilities under TVDP. The ambitious programme has the potential to mobilize the diverse geographical and socio-economic landscape of the entire Jammu and Kashmir region.
In January of this year, the Anderwali hamlet of Sangerwani village in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district was festively adorned. A group of tourists from Pune city in Maharashtra chose this place for a pre-wedding shoot. Yogi, a professional event photographer from Pune, who was part of the group, said that he was astonished with the fascinating natural beauty of the place, stating that he had been there before with his family. He informed his friends, Rohit and Shilpa, about this beautiful place in Pulwama, and they decided to have their pre-wedding shoot there.
Anderwali Sangerwani has recently been designated as a tourist village by the government under the Tourist Village Development Programme to include picturesque places on the tourist map. The ambitious programme, under the Mission Youth initiative, aims to develop 181 villages that possess distinct features such as scenic beauty, adventurous terrain, art and cultural significance, history and archaeology. It is gaining tremendous momentum with a significant influx of tourists visiting these new destinations. The main objectives of the programme are to develop new tourism destinations that integrate social, cultural, and spiritual characteristics with economic aspects, providing necessary infrastructure for tourists within these selected villages.
