Chief Secy reviews promotion of Homestays across J&K

JAMMU : Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo on Monday while chairing a meeting to review and strengthen the implementation of the Homestay Policy of the Tourism Department, emphasized upon the need to facilitate easier access to institutional credit for promoting homestays across all districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting besides ACS, PDD and ACS, Tourism was attended by Managing Director, J & K Bank, Commissioner Secretary, Law; Managing Director, Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC), Director Tourism, Jammu/Kashmir; Convenor UTLBC, and other senior officers.
During the meeting, the Chief Secretary undertook a comprehensive review of measures initiated by the Tourism Department to promote homestays, including policy refinements carried out in line with directions issued in previous meetings. He stressed that the registration process must be made simpler, more transparent, and fully accessible, while ensuring seamless availability of credit for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Highlighting the potential of homestays as a key driver of sustainable tourism and local employment, the Chief Secretary called for a series of policy interventions and deregulations to scale up the sector. He underscored the importance of developing an end-to-end digital ecosystem integrating registration, bookings, credit facilitation, and other services on a single unified platform to enhance ease of doing business.
He further directed that flagship schemes such as Mission YUVA and Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme be effectively leveraged to enable easier access to finance for homestay operators. He also emphasized exploring interest subvention mechanisms to ensure long-term sustainability and viability of such ventures.
Administrative Secretary Tourism, Dr Ashish Chandra Verma, presented a detailed overview of the policy reforms undertaken to promote the growth of homestays across the Union Territory. He informed that the registration process has been fully digitized, making it more user-friendly and accessible. He also highlighted several stakeholder-friendly amendments introduced in the guidelines to remove bottlenecks and encourage wider participation.
He further informed that the department has taken up the issue of categorizing homestays under the domestic tariff category with the Power Development and Jal Shakti Departments, along with granting them essential service status as per stakeholder demands. Additionally, the permissible number of rooms per homestay unit has been increased from four to six, and the inspection committees have been reconstituted to streamline the registration process.
Managing Director, J&K Bank, Amitava Chatterjee, informed the meeting about a dedicated loan product launched by the bank in line with earlier directions. He stated that the scheme offers financing up to Rs 30 lakh, with a provision of Rs 5 lakh per room, at an attractive interest rate of 8.2 percent. He also indicated that the bank is exploring the introduction of a “Tourism Credit Card” tailored for stakeholders in the tourism sector.
On this occasion the Managing Director, JKTDC, Shreya Singhal, apprised the meeting that more than 2,600 homestays comprising over 19,300 rooms have been registered across the Union Territory so far. She highlighted several initiatives being undertaken to strengthen the homestay ecosystem, including the formulation of an updated homestay policy.
She also emphasized the need to bring secondary properties under a structured Bed & Breakfast (B&B) framework, in line with best practices followed in other states. Furthermore, she informed that a dedicated portal has been developed on the official tourism website to facilitate onboarding of homestay owners, along with capacity building and marketing support through popular digital platforms such as OYO and others.
The Chief Secretary reiterated the commitment to developing homestays as a cornerstone of community-based tourism in Jammu and Kashmir, aimed at generating employment, promoting local culture, and enhancing visitor experience across the region.