Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Jammu and Kashmir’s renewed Homestay Policy will serve as the bedrock for a more inclusive model of tourism, one that pushes visitors beyond the region’s well-trodden circuits and turns local households into direct stakeholders in the tourism economy, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo said on Friday.
Chairing a review meeting of the Tourism Department, Dulloo underlined the need for easier access to credit and structured training to help the homestay sector scale up, describing the model as particularly suited to Jammu and Kashmir’s ecologically sensitive landscape, where large-format hotel construction is neither desirable nor always feasible.
The chief secretary said promoting homestays would extend tourism into destinations that have so far remained largely unexplored, while giving local residents a direct financial stake in visitor footfall through employment, rental income and allied business opportunities. He directed the Tourism Department to intensify handholding and capacity-building support for both existing and prospective homestay owners, and called on banks and financial institutions to step up support for renovating and upgrading homestay properties under the new framework.
Officials at the meeting said Jammu and Kashmir currently has 2,802 registered homestay units offering a combined capacity of 20,514 beds, a base the government hopes to expand significantly under the revamped policy. Under the framework, a homestay is defined as a residential property where the owner’s family continues to live on the premises while offering one to six guest rooms, subject to prescribed standards for safety, hygiene, water supply and electricity.
The policy also introduces a Bed and Breakfast model, allowing owners of secondary residential properties to register them for tourist accommodation, offering one to six rooms each. Officials said the provision opens a new revenue stream for households sitting on vacant or underused residential property while expanding the region’s overall accommodation capacity.
A key financial component involves J&K Bank, which will extend loans of up to ₹5 lakh per room, capped at ₹30 lakh per homestay, to support conversion of residential houses into guest accommodation. The government has also folded the initiative into its broader Mission YUVA youth employment push, partnering with hospitality platform OYO on a “Crown of Incredible India” homestay initiative aimed at encouraging village-based entrepreneurship, particularly among young people in rural and lesser-explored parts of the Union Territory.
To cut down on procedural delays, the renewed policy introduces a simplified, time-bound registration and inspection process through the J&K Tourism portal, where applicants can upload property details, photographs and documents online. An Inspection Committee will assess applicants against a prescribed checklist and assign a Silver or Gold rating based on compliance. Applicants who complete their documentation will receive provisional Silver Category registration for six months, and if verification is not completed within 15 days, the registration is automatically deemed approved.
Officials said the overarching goal of the framework is to build a digitally enabled, financially backed tourism ecosystem that places local households and youth at the centre of Jammu and Kashmir’s tourism-led economic development.
