AP yet to encash on home stays by tourists

VISAKHAPATNAM: Even as southern states such as Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are witnessing an increase in number of home stays to cater to tourists, the concept is yet to take off in Andhra Pradesh. Home stay involves the tourists staying at residences of locals instead of hotels.
While the AP tourism policy 2015-20 has identified home stays as one of the options for promoting rural tourism, the government is yet to identify and promote home stays in AP.With a large number of tourists expected to descend on Vizag in February 2016 for the International Fleet Review (IFR), tourism experts opined that promotion of home stays during this period could help boost the local economy as well as tourism destinations in and around Vizag as well as the state.
"Unlike a hotel, a home stay offers a unique experience of being able to taste the local flavours and also understand the local art forms and culture better from the hosts," said Sunil Abhilash, CEO and co-founder of the country’s first flexible bus network for travellers, GoMowgli.in.
"When home stays started off in Coorg, tourists got a taste of the local akki roti (roti made out of rice flour), which is not usually served in big hotels. New generation travellers want to experience local food, art and culture. This actually acts as an incentive to promote many of the dying local cuisine."
Vizagite Vijay Potnuru, who has travelled extensively across Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal and Goa, said, “Home stays can turn into a major source of income for the local economy. Nobody has been able to promote in Vizag or in AP as other states have done. But, Vizag can be a gateway for home stays, but in order to do that the district administration and police also need to instill confidence among the people about the security for the hosts as well as guests.”
"A large number of people who are working in Bengaluru and Chennai want to experience new places. Places such as Coorg and Wayanad are teeming with tourists and some of the travellers, who want an offbeat experience are now looking at new destinations. If the AP government identifies locals willing to setup home stays and promote the local culture, Vizag, which has good air and rail connectivity to these cities can become a major tourism destination for domestic travellers," opined visakhatourism.com founder Subhajit Biswas.
Furthermore, he said, "We are working on an app called tribeconnect – so that foreigners who want to live the Indian culture can directly go to a home and stay at the place by cutting costs by around 70 per cent. If we are able to provide this, the local person would also get an income and be able to promote the real India."
According to a study conducted by holiday information portal HolidayIQ.com last year, southern states of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu combined are garnering 71 per cent of the home stay share in the country whereas Himachal and Maharashtra have a share of 10 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively.
Three tourist destinations from God’s Own Country – Kochi, Allapuzha and Wayanad — and two tourist hotspots from Karnataka – Coorg and Chikmagalur – are the top 5 destinations with maximum home stays in the country.
The study also pointed out that home stays are a favourite among budget travellers in the country. Not surprisingly, the number of home stays has grown exponentially from as low as 17 in 2004 to 1,663 in 2014.