Motivation and Challenges of Homestay Owners in Uttarakhand

Abstract

Tourism sector is significantly important for Uttarakhand’s economy, and homestays play an imperative role in ensuring the success of the tourism industry therefore the government of Uttarakhand had come up with a homestay promotional scheme. To find out how this scheme has changed the level of motivation and challenges of the homestay owners is a pertinent question. Hence this study examines the motivation to start the homestay and the challenges experienced by homestay owners. The data were gathered through interviews with ten homestay owners and analysed using Thematic Analysis. The findings of the study reveal that motivation from Gram Pradhan (head of local government at village level), state government scheme to promote homestays, homestays are perceived as a good investment opportunity by the local residents, and a chance to conserve the heritage are motivational factors for homestay owners. Further, it was found that access to capital, lack of promotion, difficulty in availing subsidies, heavy documentation, and corruption are significant challenges for homestay owners in the state.