Home-stay concept catching up in Karnataka

The Home-Stay concept promoted by the Tourism Department has encouraged many coffee planters in Kodagu, Chikamagalur and Hassan districts of Karnataka to throw open the doors of their estate homes for tourists from India and abroad.

Speaking a tourism promotion function in Bangalore, Karnataka’s Tourism Minister B Sriramulu said the Home-Stay concept had caught the fancy of many coffee planters, who are looking for an alternative source of income. “This has turned out to be a huge business opportunity for the coffee planters residing in these picturesque and hilly regions of the state”, he said.

Also, the tourists, chiefly foreigners, are coming down in hordes to stay in homes of people living amidst these scenic coffee plantation and hill stations under the Home-Stay concept promoted by the Tourism Department, he said. “They were returning with memorable experiences”, Sriramulu added.

The owners of such homes were offering very good hospitality to the tourists and contributing to the success of the Home Stay concept, the Tourism Minister said.

He said the Karnataka Government was planning to bring in a piece of legislation to ensure the smooth success of the Home-Stay concept. The proposed legislation envisages security for the tourists, prevention of tourists’ harassment and over-crowding at Home-Stay destinations.

However, Sriramulu said the proposed legislation will also he friendly to the hosts as the Government will allow them to have a self-regulatory mechanism over tax related issues.