Srinagar (UNI): Jammu and Kashmir government will transform 75 villages under the Tourist Village Network program Mission Youth to ensure balanced and equitable development of the tourism sector across the Union Territory.
The government under this initiative aims to rejuvenate and transform more than 75 villages in the union territory by promoting tourism and giving sustainable employment for the youth to commemorate 75 years of Independence under “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, an official spokesman said.
In this context, the government started the movement of promoting homestay tourism in the UT by launching Panchari, a village with mesmerizing beauty in district Udhampur as the first tourist village with home stays.
Remarking about this unique initiative, the Lieutenant Governor of J&K Manoj Sinha said that the administration will recognize the uniqueness of each village and showcase the landscape, foster the indigenous knowledge system and promote cultural diversity and heritage of these villages.
Jammu and Kashmir is known all over the world for the tourism sector is one of the main contributors to the GDP. The Tourism Industry earns huge foreign exchange and provides employment to the thousands of unemployed youth.
The initiative launched under the mission youth will work towards giving a facelift to the 75 villages that are already famous for their historical background, picturesque landscape and cultural importance.
The initiative will strengthen the rural economy in the region, turn youth into entrepreneurs and empower women by offering numerous opportunities of employment.
The initiative is also aimed to promote shooting of films and offering financial aid to the villages for their sustainable development.
All villages which are part of the initiative will also be provided a digital footprint.
It will also provide maximum job opportunities to the youth from different backgrounds and ensure their participation in the policies that have an impact on their lives.
This initiative of Tourist Village Network has the potential and propensity to mobilize the diverse geographical and socio-economic landscape of the union territory.
These are several regions in the union territory which despite having greater tourism potential, have not been able to garner requisite attention due to infrastructural bottlenecks.
Destinations which lag behind in the sphere of tourism infrastructure, can overcome the downsides by introducing homestays as a means of accommodation facilities for the tourists which do not require heavy investment.
This new initiative will surely be the harbinger of change especially for those regions which have remained underdeveloped and neglected.
