By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 18 Jul: Booking for homestays in Uttarakhand can now be done on www.uttarastays.com. This is the first such initiative by the Tourism Department in any state of the country where a state-sponsored homestay booking portal has been launched. Secretary Tourism/Chief Executive Officer, Uttarakhand Tourism Development Council (UTDC), Sachin Kurve said that this three-pronged strategy to strengthen the homestay infrastructure in the state, which includes assistance through subsidy, skill training to homestay owners and booking through online portal will prove to be a milestone in state’s tourism sector. He has also invited all homestay owners to register their homestays on the portal. Users can also rate the homestays on the platform through which homestay operators will get real feedback on their services, which will also give them an opportunity to improve their services.
Kurve said that, in future, there is also a plan to connect homestays with wellness centres established in different areas so that tourists can also get the benefit of services like yoga, naturopathy, Panchkarma, Ayurvedic massage, etc.
Reacting to this development, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that Homestay Scheme is an effective medium to promote tourism in Uttarakhand. The launch of Homestay Booking Portal is also an effort to strengthen the economy of homestay operators. He added that this portal will provide accurate information about homestays to the general public as well as facilitate booking homestays online. This initiative is also an effort to provide an online medium for booking to homestay owners.
Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj said that with this online portal, another dimension has been added by the Tourism Department to promote homestays. With this, homestay owners can register their homestays for booking on this portal by providing information and signing an agreement. Maharaj claimed that UTDC is continuously committed to promoting the local economy through tourism. This initiative is a powerful and important step towards increasing the revenue of homestay owners by providing them an online medium without any cost to reach out to prospective clients and guests.
