Bangalore: Though "home stay" in Karnataka is in its nascent stage, did you know that in Kodagu alone there are about 750-odd "home stay" places one could choose from. Fledgling that they are, they seem to be having their own issues and today they came together at the "mini connect" on "home stay in Karnataka", organised by the Department of Tourism.

Assuring the industry that the issues would be sorted out soon, Minister for Tourism B. Sriramulu has decided to stay in one of the "home stays" in Kodagu to get first-hand inputs.

Issues such as security, commercial taxes, excise duty, police harassment, cultural inputs etc. have cropped up, and Mr. Sriramulu said these have been placed before the Government, to be resolved soon.

Understanding the potential of this segment to improve the economic condition in the region where home stays came up, he said that it could be replicated in Chikmagalur and in the Western Ghats where accommodation remained a problem.

Giving an insight into the home stay segment, Tourism Secretary I.M. Vittala Murthy said that this had come into focus now, though this concept had been in practice for years, when one visited "jathras" (village festivals) and stayed in a friend's or a relative's place. In Kodagu, this gained currency, particularly after the slump in the coffee prices.

"Small coffee planters were economically driven to host people and that has become an enriching experience."

Now that there were quite a number of home stays, there had to be some kind of certification to ensure that they were not solely commercial propositions, but were ways of retaining the culture of the region.

"Kodagu has so many facets that can be highlighted, take their weddings, the food, the location itself; and the home stays can integrate them to make tourism an enriching experience."

Convenor of INTACH P.C. Nayak suggested that the home stay segment had to have self-regulation, like the way the Mumbai dabbhawallahs had. The association of home stays had to have guidelines and also should come out with small handbooks which could feature the region; the home stays etc.

The former Additional Chief Secretary Chiranjeevi Singh suggested regulation of the home stays as to have standard product.

Talking about tourism per se, he said that two issues hampered arrivals into India — few airport gateways and inadequate accommodation. The arrivals were around three million in 2005, increasing from 2.3 million a decade ago and this was not good.

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