With the ever-increasing tourists coming to Rajasthan city of Jaipur, also known as the Pink City, 40 private residences have turned into mini-hospitality centres offering graded boarding and lodging facilities on the lines of the star hotels in the city, inspired by 11 homestays running in Jungpura and Defence Colony in Delhi.

Promoted by the Hotel Clarks-Amer, the Jaipur Pride, with its 51-odd properties, is the first branded, standardised homestay in the country.

The entire city is chipping in. Bureaucrats, doctors, the local royalty, professionals, activists, artists and socialites have gathered to give the tourists a feel of homely Rajasthan by making them comfortable in their guest-rooms and on the dining table.

The facilities are standardised, set to guidelines laid down by the Clarks and the rooms and menu are graded into ‘A’ or the base rooms, ‘B’ or the standard rooms and ‘C’ the luxury rooms according to their prices.

“The idea is to sell India through its people and create more affordable tourism infrastructure with additional inventories in an age when hotel tariffs are so steep. Each home has been carefully profiled and evaluated to ensure maximum comfort,” says Apurv Kumar, executive director, Clarks-Amer, the man behind the project.

Despite the fact that Goa, the beach capital of India, attracts lakhs of tourists each year, the state lacks in proper accommodation infrastructure. Hotels and resorts are numerous, still tourists visiting during the peak season (October to February) face problems of accommodation that suit their budget. Surprisingly the Homestay concept, which can help to a large extent, is still in its nascent stage in Goa.

There is no portal that has information, if any, on Homestays in the state. Neither do residents have any ways and means to get to prospective home-stayers.

“Although tourists come to Goa throughout the year, the peak season sees tens of thousands of tourists thronging the place. As such, getting the right accommodation becomes very difficult. It’s not that there is a dearth of accommodation, it’s about lack of information dissemination. Yes, there is limited rooms in hotels, plus in many cases the prices are beyond one’s budget. So what does one do,” says a tour operator from Panjim (Panaji).

However there are very reasonable and even more better accommodation for tourists in Goa. Many people have either opened small resorts or rent out their houses or rooms to tourists.

“If you are looking for a perfect homely atmosphere where you can relax and make your own timetable — these are the places worth staying. This is also a great way to get a taste of local Goa. So no more waking up early to catch the buffet breakfast, or opening doors to the housekeeping staff when you are in the mood to relax and enjoy the morning just in bed. Be a guest, but stay like a king,” he adds.

It is very surprising…Goa and Goans are known for their hospitality. Still tourists had to, in many occasions, shell out more money staying in hotels that’s actually above their budget.

“Actually the problem is getting to the right person. I have a furnished flat near Baina Beach in Vasco which I would like to rent out to tourists. But the problem is I see no way to get a tenant. There is no portals where you can post these requirements. These are some areas where we need to focus if we are to make Goa the beach capital of India,” says an executive from Delhi.

Homestay can be a good concept to unburden Goa’s sagging accommodation infrastructure. There are several locals who puts their houses, flats, rooms on rent. What Goa needs is a meeting ground between the tourist/ tenant and the land-lord. A database or a portal to post one’s Homestay requirements can come as a major relief.

Visa on arrival could be a reality soon with the Union Tourism ministry keen on it to ensure more foreign tourist arrivals.

“We are working on providing visa on arrival to tourists and will take a decision after discussing the matter with the Union Home ministry,” Union Tourism Minister Ambika Soni said recently.

“After the modernisation of different international airports in the country, I hope we shall also be able to provide visa on arrival facilities,” she said.

Currently countries like Thailand provide visa on arrival to tourists from selected countries.

The Tourism ministry would have to get the nod of Home Ministry before starting such facilities, Soni said.

This facility would ease the problems of tourists and ensure more arrivals, she said. “We want tourists to have a good experience in India.

“If a tourist has a good experience, he or she would like to come back again and also spread the good word for the destination,” she added.

With Medical tourism gaining momentum in India over the past few years, a new category of Medical Visa has been introduced which can be given for a specific purpose to foreign tourist coming to India for medical treatment.

This visa which is initially issued to a patient with a companion for a period of one year can be extended up to three years after fulfilling certain conditions and recommendations from the accredited medical authorities and concerned visa authorities.

A trend of Medical Tourism has emerged owing to certain factors including India’s low-cost advantage and the emergence of new high-quality healthcare service providers. Approximately 1,50,000 patients arrived in 2004 from across the globe for medical treatment, from countries like US, UK, Middle East, Africa, SAARC countries.

In the last year India saw an increase of approximately 20% in the medical tourists arriving the nation. The medical tourism market in India, estimated at US$ 333 Million in 2004 grew by about 25 percent and is predicted to become a US$ 2 billion-a-year business opportunity by 2012.

Himachal Pradesh, the Indian state at the foothills of the mighty Himalayas is all set to give a boost to the Homestay concept. Taking this into consideration, the state government is likely to consider exemption over procedural registration of such units, change of land use fee, luxury tax, sales tax and commercial charges on electricity, restricted to five bed rooms and water so that rural participation was ensured in tourism, a house hold affair.

The authorities would also be adopting a liberal attitude towards the rural tourism promotion and encourage people to create basic infrastructure to cater to the basic requirements of the tourists visiting rural and remote areas for which additional incentives would be provided.

A Master Development Plan for Kufri as high end tourist destination extended up to Durgapur with a special focus on sanitation, garbage disposal system, type of construction will soon be carried out for tourism activities and develop Craignano as alternate tourist destination by creating the basic amenities for the visitors to the area.

Efforts would be made to re-locate the pony riders at suitable places so that their earning was not hampered and the places were maintained hygienically neat and clean to attract maximum number of tourists to visit the place.