Homestays are becoming popular in Kerala with many jumping into the tourism bandwagon by opening doors of their estate bungalows, heritage homes, farmhouses and even ordinary homes for tourists.
KOCHI: Homestays are becoming popular in Kerala with many jumping into the tourism bandwagon by opening doors of their estate bungalows, heritage homes, farmhouses and even ordinary homes for tourists.
The state is targeting about 1,500 classified homestays with approximately 5,000 rooms in five years time, Tourism secretary Dr V Venu said.
Homestays are literally a home away from home, allowing tourists to get close to a culture and tradition of a community.
Tucked away in the misty plantation hills, amidst coconut groves and backwaters, homestays offer visitors a rich and varied experiences of the culture, lifestyles and flavours of the land and the people.
Many retired officials are taking it as a new vocation.
Thankappan Kettarathil, a retired LIC official, started 'Misty Heights' homestay at Munnar in Idukki district. He has let out three rooms for his guests. About 30 guests from North India have so far been his guests, he said.
Tomy Joseph, another homestay owner in Munnar says, he let out his room only to foreign tourists. He charges USD 50 a day, which includes traditional breakfast, dinner and sightseeing.
A sizeable chunk of the homestay guests are IT professionals from Hyderabad, Bangalore and Pune, says another homestay owner. Houses owned by NRIs are also being let out for homestays.
The Tourism Minister said his department has also planned to bring out a new scheme for classification of homestays by bringing out clear guidelines on the required facilities, procedures for classifications, benefits to operators.
At present, prospective homestay operators have to get a police clearance certificate from the local Station House Officer. The maximum number of rooms one can offer is six and at least one family member should be able to converse in English.
Though Kerala has 50,000 rooms for tourists in different categories, less than 10,000 are quality rooms, Venu said.
Homestays provide an decent stay without compromising on the quality, he added.
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