Karnataka looks to bait urban tourist with rural hook

Agri-tourism seems to be catching the fancy of investors and the urban crowd, which is always seeking newer thrills to rejuvenate, by promising an escape from the ubiquitous hotel-centric activities.

Experiencing the slow-pace of a rural setting, living on a village farm, orchard or plantation are some of the things a tourist can look forward to under the new initiative, which has generated a lot of buzz in the tourist circuit.

It is no surprise that the tourism department is looking to cash in. The department has proposed about 26 potential areas for investors and come out with fresh guidelines to regulate tourist activities on farms as interest surges.

“The target crowd for this would be the urban population who want to experience rural life,” Sindhu B Rupesh, Director, Department of Tourism, said.

The director said that tourists would get to experience activities such as milk production, sericulture, bee-keeping, hands-on farming, including picking fruits and vegetables, rides and games and many others.

Officials revealed that these activities would be spread throughout the state, ranging from silk farms of Ramanagara to paddy farms in Mandya and Ballari, areca plantations of central Karnataka to coffee plantations of Malnad.

The initiative could be owned by an individual farmer or a group of farmers or society. Alongside their farm activities, this will act as an income multiplier for farmers while providing exposure to the urban crowd about rural conditions, said officials.

A senior official of the department told DH that this would be completely different from the current home-stay tour concept. "Travellers visit home-stays to go to nearby popular destinations. But here, it will be nothing but understanding the rural life and economy in the middle of nature along with the stakeholders while living with them," the officer clarified.

A minimum farm area of five acres is a must to offer the agri-tourism activities, with guided tours on farming practices, interaction with farmers and agricultural labourers.

“There is a population which has never travelled in a long time and is willing to spend. We have a chance to show them what they have not seen in their entire lives,” Rupesh explained.

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