Rural tourism offers opportunities for economic development in Punjab, where over half the population lives in rural areas. It allows visitors to experience rural life and culture while providing income for local communities. Punjab has diverse rural attractions, including heritage sites, festivals, cuisine and crafts. However, rural tourism is still developing and faces challenges like lack of infrastructure and training. Both government support and private sector involvement are needed to improve facilities, marketing and community inclusion to ensure the sustainable growth of rural tourism in Punjab.

1. Ms. Aparna Bhatia
A.P. CTIHM SHAHPUR
JALANDHAR
*

2. *1. Introduction: Tourism is one of the most important
revenue generating sectors for all countries as well as
important job generator sector. It likewise fills in as an
instrument for improvement.
*The improvement of a country around the idea of Rural
Tourism is unquestionably helpful for a state like
Punjab, where very nearly 54% of the populace dwells
in its 7 million towns.
*In the created nations, this has brought about another
style of tourism of visiting town settings to encounter
and carry on with a loose and sound way of life. This
idea has taken the state of a formal sort of Rural
Tourism. In this setting the territory of Punjab has
started towards the advancement of rustic tourism for
supportable improvement.

3. *2. Punjab State -An overview:
Punjab is an agrarian state arranged in the north western India.
The tourism result of Punjab is changed and wealthy in culture
and legacy, sustenance, celebrations, fairs, nearby expressions
and artworks, castles, landmarks, religious spots and much
more.Punjab is a little state add up to region of 50362 sq.
kilometers.
Its limit contacts Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of
Chandigarh in the east. Rajasthan and Haryana in the south,
Jammu and Kashmir on the north and on its west is universal
limit contacting Pakistan. There are twenty-two areas and its
capital is Chandigarh.
There are some different properties which offer provincial
tourism experience to the vacationers. The Punjab Govt. has
give tourism a unique status by announcing it as an industry in
the year 1996.

4. * 3. Rural Tourism
Rural tourism is one of the most recent sort of tourism and as
of now the focal point of consideration all through the world.
Any type of tourism that exhibited the rustic life,
workmanship, culture and legacy a provincial regions to profit
the nearby network monetarily and socially and additionally
empowering connection between the vacationers and local
people can be named as country tourism. The part and
significance of tourism during the time spent country
improvement had been demonstrated in numerous nations.
S.No. Year Domestic
Tourist
Foreign
Tourist
Total
1 2009 53.67 1.1 54.80
2 2010 105.83 1.37 107.20
3 2011 164.16 1.50 165.67
4 2012 190.56 1.43 191.19
5 2013 213.40 2.04 215.44
6 2014 177.57 2.55 182.23
7 2015 257 2.42 259.45
8 2016 3,87 6,59 3,93
9 2017 4,02 11,08 4,14
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Domestic
Tourist
Foreign
Tourist

5. * 4.Regional Distribution of Rural Tourism Sites
Punjab is famous for the rural tourism. All occasions and exercises
occur at some place and tourism is no special case. Consequently, all
tourism related occasions can have space and time arranges joined to
them. Punjab is comprehensively partitioned into three
social/geological districts to be specific Malwa, Majha and Doaba.
Regional distribution of the rural tourism sites approved by Punjab
Heritage Tourism Promotion Board is depicted through below Map.
Map 1: Rural Tourism Sites
Source: Department of Tourism, Punjab

6. 5. Farm Tourism:
The concept of farm tourism in which Farm house owners
providing a rural tourism experience to visitors.
The farm house owners act as both hosts and guides to
the visiting tourist. The farm houses provide a clean,
hygienic environment with modern facilities which meet
the standards defined by Punjab Tourism (The Punjab
Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board). Apart from the
farm experience the visitor should get exposure to local
community life, which may mean attending a panchayat
meeting, exposure to local songs, food, dances, art and
craft, festival occasions such as marriages and local
melas etc.

7. * 6. Role of the Government & Private Sector:
* The specific role should be to :
* Work together with Govt. in the advancement and showcasing of goals.
* Give infrastructural offices.
* Give the needed help offices and motivators to both residential and outside financial
specialists to energize private interest in the tourism area.
* Support tax collection and land approaches in the tourism area in every one of the States and
Union Territories and in regard of land claimed by Government offices like Railways.
* Guarantee that the nearby network is completely included and the advantages of tourism
collect to them.
* Embrace inquire about, get ready ground breaking strategies, and encourage detailing of
advertising methodologies.
* Start particular measures to guarantee wellbeing and security of vacationers and proficient
help administrations.
* Manufacture and deal with the required visitor offices in all spots of provincial traveler
intrigue.
* Guarantee safeguarding and assurance of provincial vacation spots and give lead in green
practices.
* Support upkeep of landmarks, exhibition halls and stops and arrangement of open
accommodations and offices.
* Include the nearby network in tourism extends and guarantee that the advantages of tourism
gather to them in right measure.
* Attempt industry preparing and labor improvement to accomplish brilliance in nature of
administrations.
* Encourage wellbeing and security of vacationers .

8. * 7. Swot Analysis:
* Strengths:
* Generally great foundation in Punjab.
* Observation and picture of Punjab as a neighborly place.
* Worldwide mindfulness about Punjab's way of life, food and customs.
* Generally flourishing of towns in Punjab and along these lines accessibility of current offices.
* Vivid nature and vast heartedness of local people.
*
* Weaknesses:
* Outrageous climatic conditions as cruel winter and burning summer.
* Showcasing is generally troublesome contrasted with prominent goals.
* Non-accessibility of gifted staff influences the general nature of administration
* Moderately poor therapeutic offices in rustic India are an obstruction for sightseers.
*
* Opportunities:
* Substantial number of NRIs from Punjab will help the advertising of goal.
* Expanding urbanization will prompt appeal for rustic life.
* Expanding surge at goals of mass tourism will make advertise for selective specialty tourism
* Moderately minimal effort of a visit occasion will pull in spending explorers.
*
*
* Threats:
* Corrupt exercises by a few components may make a negative picture for tourism
* Dialect hindrance may stop remote travelers.
* Any recovery of rebellion in Punjab will severely affect the business
* May prompt over the top commercialization of generally straightforward rustic canvas.

9. *8.CONCLUSION :
Provincial tourism is in its early stage in India however it
will undoubtedly develop. The experience of numerous
nations demonstrates that country tourism can be
viewed as a substitute wellspring of job and work. The
primary issues with provincial tourism are, deficient
reserve for attention, absence of government bolster,
inadequate writing identified with agri-tourism practices
and absence of training Strong town level organizations,
which can take up the execution once the undertaking
has been started, would go far in boosting rustic
tourism.
Subsequently, tourism relies on human, it needs to react
to the necessities of the travelers, needs of the
neighborhood networks, be financial and socially very
much arranged and naturally stable. There is a huge
extent of country tourism in the territory of Punjab.
Thus, there is a need for intervention by the concerned
authorities to look into the matter and take up
necessary steps for success of rural tourism venture in
the state.