State to soon undertake survey of homestays registered with it

Kolkata: The Tourism department will soon undertake a survey of the homestays registered with it to examine whether they have facilities in place as per guidelines of the state government.

The survey will be done by a competent agency identified through tender procedure. Recently, Home Secretary Nandini Chakraborty, who is also the principal secretary of the department, chaired a meeting where the decision of the survey was taken. “Several homestays came up in different parts of the state over the last seven years.

The state government has provided financial assistance to them to promote homestay tourism. The survey is aimed at identifying whether they are maintaining standards of tourist amenities since the state government offers subsidies for setting up homestays. The survey is similar to an audit exercise,” said a Nabanna official. In 2017, the state introduced ‘Home Stay Policy’. The policy was revised in 2019 and in 2022 after tourism was hit due to Covid pandemic. The state presently offers Rs 1 lakh for developing infrastructure of homestay facilities after they register with the state government.

There are certain guidelines that these homestays are expected to follow in respect of tourist amenities.

Tourism department sources said, till mid September, the total number of registered homestays across the state is 2,373. Kalimpong has 1,070 homestays followed by Darjeeling 310.

There are 138 homestays in Jalpaiguri, 102 in Jhargram, 47 in Birbhum, 38 in Purulia, to name a few.

There are allegations of homestays not adhering to state guidelines. After booking, tourists have complained they were denied the facilities promised during booking. “The survey will be carried out on the basis of a list from the district magistrates. If homestays are found flouting the latest policy, action will be taken against them,” the official said.