Rajasthan a hot tourism destination is now planning to promote Rural Tourism in a big way. The state government has issued directions to all district collectors and chief executive Officers of Zilla Parishad that rural tourism can be built around themes like cultural heritage, historical monuments, handicrafts, social and cultural life, wild life and eco-tourism. As per the directions, villages falling on the tourism circuit main routes or slightly away from the main routes can be selected on the basis of any one theme.



These villages can be developed to attract tourism en route to major tourist destinations in the district. Special projects for development of such villages would also be prepared under the Border Area Development Program to be funded by the Union government through special grant. On account of promotion of rural tourism benefits like creation of

employment by setting up restaurants, dhabas, tourist guides, performances of cultural troops, direct sale of handicrafts and arts manufactured by self help groups (SHGs) and local artisans and revenue of village Panchayats through levy of tourists entry charges, option of parking places, renting of shops could accrue to the villages.

Government is taking many steps to promote Tours to Rajasthan viz. It has been directed that while preparing the village development plan apart from the social and economic infrastructure and services, items like cleanliness of villages under the total sanitation scheme, construction of community toilets of high quality and arrangements for maintenance, suitable parking place for the vehicles, village connectivity through all weather road with the main route, drinking water arrangements at the tourist sites, handicraft bazaar, places for restaurants and dhabas, platforms for performing artists, puppet shows, systematic and intensive tree plantation in the village and particularly on places to be visited by the tourists, arrangements for communication services, development of heritage and historical sites in the village and to provide houses to those having no house should also be included.

Keeping in view these objectives the district collectors have been asked to identify villages that can promote rural Tourism in Rajasthan and prepare an exhaustive development plan of the village as per the guidelines and send it for the approval of the state government.