Date:20/12/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/12/20/stories/2006122004120500.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Home-stay units to be classified

Staff Reporter

Plan to offer 5,000 rooms for tourists

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Tourism has come up with elaborate guidelines for classification of home-stay units. The aim is to have 1,500 classified units offering 5,000 rooms for tourists.

Classification, in A, B and C categories, will be valid for two years.

Apart from creating direct employment for 7,500 people, the units are expected to promote tourism in rural areas and help the common man directly benefit from the industry.

Lack of adequate hotel rooms and huge investment needed for setting up quality rooms have forced the authorities to go for home-stays. A tourism official says only 10,000 of the 50,000 rooms available for visitors to the State are of good quality.

The State needs 5,000 quality rooms at present and 10,000 more in five years. An investment of Rs. 3,000 crore is needed in the accommodation sector. Home-stays are a cheaper way of achieving the target, without compromising on quality, the official adds.

Individuals or families owning a house of good quality who can spare at least a room can participate in the scheme. The number of rooms that can be offered by each of them has been restricted to six.

A clearance certificate from the local police station has to be submitted along with the application. The classification will be made only if the owners or promoters and their families live in the houses offered as home-stay units.

At least one family member should be able to communicate in English. Houses in areas of tourism importance will get priority. Continuous training will be provided to home-stay operators and their staff through the Kerala Institute of Travel and Tourism Studies (KITTS) and food craft institutes. An investor support cell to be set up under Kerala Tourism will help the units with marketing and technical guidance.

A State-level committee, with Principal Secretary, Tourism, and KITTS Director as convenors, will be formed to oversee the implementation of the scheme.

In the districts, the district panchayat presidents will chair the classification committee. The committees will have representatives from the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association, the Indian Association of Tour Operators and a member of the local body having jurisdiction over the area where the unit is located.