CII bets on agri-tourism in Uttar Pradesh

The UP arm of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has developed a business concept, agri-tourism, to attract tourists and also help the farmers and the rural community of the state make money.

The Uttar Pradesh CII has joined hands with the Strategic Initiative and Advisory Government (SIG), an initiative of Delhi-based Yes Bank, to conduct a research on the same. The research aims to find out if the concept of agri-tourism is beneficial for the state.

The idea is to promote rural tourism and attract visitors to come and see the countryside, handicrafts, taste traditional food and enjoy folk music.

"This model is already a success at Baramati in Maharashtra, where farmers have come together to promote tourism via agriculture. There they have also made a rest house of 15-16 rooms to help visitors plan their visits," said Tushar Pandey, country head (SIG), Yes Bank.

He said the study (conducted by Yes Bank) proposed to link agriculture with tourism. It could take the form of a model where the farmers of a particular place unite to form a co-operative and help develop the place, or it may take the shape of a joint partnership by rural populace where the land is owned by one person but developed by all the others, while the services of entertaining tourists can be done by yet another group of individuals.

"This will, in a way, also help in generating direct rural employment," he added.

Talking about the finances required to develop such a place, the official said that an amount of about Rs 25 lakh was good enough. "However, those who need financial aid can get assistance from the state government and other lending agencies," he said.

The CII is in talks with the tourism and agriculture department of Uttar Pradesh to promote this concept. "To develop the economy of the state, it is necessary to keep evolving and experimenting with new models. This is one such initiative from our end. We hope to bring back the tourist inflow that we have lost to our neighbouring state Uttarakhand," said a CII official.

The state government, which has shown its keen interest in the concept, is awaiting the outcome of the study, only after which it will take any further step in the direction. The research study will be presented to the state government during a conclave, to be held in November this year.