As many as 50 tribal villages of Madhya Pradesh will undergo a makeover to create a tourist friendly ecosystem as the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has received a nod from the Centre for developing tribal tourism in the state.
The Centre has accepted the proposal of state tourism department for developing tourism in tribal rich areas of Madhya Pradesh. Dhar, Jhabua, Alirajpur, Khargone, Ratlam, Betul, Tikamgarh and Dindori among others are some of the tribal dominated areas of Madhya Pradesh.
MPTB additional managing director Vivek Shrotriya said, “We had sent a proposal to Centre for development of a tribal tourism and that was accepted. Under this project we will work on 50 tribal-dominated villages of Madhya Pradesh and develop homestays, promote local food, art and craft. The exercise is to attract tourists to these locations which are rich in tribal culture.”
As part of the project, the tourism department plans to develop homestays in tribal dominated villages, create market platforms, conduct community development programmes and train locals on different hospitality segments. The tourism department in collaboration with NGOs and subject experts also plan to train tribal families on way to host guests, preparations and serving of local traditional food to guests, adding value to local art forms, driving and to work as guides.
Shrotriya said, “Nowadays, tourists look for stays close to nature and enjoy experiential tourism. This initiative will also boost the local economy and generate work for locals.”
The department will share a part of expense to develop homestays in the tribal areas under the project sanctioned by the ministry of tribal affairs.
Tourism board under a separate rural tourism project is already developing homestays and creating a conducive ecosystem for tourists in Barkheda and Gunjara villages in Mhow and Malipura, Sulibardi and Bhil Barkheda in Mandu.