About us
A. What ‘homestay’ means in general
Oxford Dictionary aptly describes ‘homestay’ as ‘a holiday or other period abroad spent staying in the home of a local family’. The basic idea of a homestay is that the guests receive warmth and hospitality, with normal food and accommodation (as the hosts) and a chance to experience local cultures and local lifestyle.
It gradually became popular as people began to travel widely in 1950’s in search of new experiences and cultural interactions like to learn a new language or learning farming. ‘Community Homestays’ are an extended from of homestays. Not just the host family, but almost entire activities from that particular location is integrated. Be it the socio-cultural practices, economics activities, environmental or tourism, it is all coordinated for a unique local experience.
B. History and Prospect of homestay in Nepal
The government of Nepal introduced ‘homestay program’ as village tourism in 1997 for the first time. Sirubari (Syangja District, Western Nepal) & Ghalegaon (Lamjung District, North-Central Nepal) were the first two village to implement community homestay then. With the introduction of ‘Home-Stay Regulation’ in August of 2010, it gave official recognition to the homestay program as sustainable form of rural tourism. The government estimates that there are roughly a thousand homestays all over. Homestay has been is foreseen as a complete sustainable product integration all tourism mechanism. With much of Nepal still rural, the prospect of homestay is sure to evolve and grow.
C. Benefits of Homestay in Nepal
- Preservation of culture, traditions and lifestyle
- Societal benefits: better quality of life; direct beneficiaries of local tourism; promotion of local agriculture and indigenous industries
- Economic benefits: generates self-employment; boosts rural economy; decentralizes national income
- Ecological & environmental protection: better management, care and utilization of natural resources
- Futures Avenues: people will be keen to find ways to develop cycling, trekking, cultural tours, agricultural tourism, adventure sports, eco-tourism, etc. where possible, when they find a reasonable flow of tourists in their area.
D. Limitation/Challenges of Homestay in Nepal
- Poor infrastructure in roads and health-care facilities, thus proper risk assessment needed beforehand
- Lack of skill and knowledge for tourism management; lack of government mechanism
- Unlike proper hotels, homestays offer the best that place can offer given their condition. By definition, it does not give way for luxury. Sometimes, such high expectation cannot be met.
- Tourists needs to be mindful and respectful of local customs and traditions, even if they do not fully agree with, especially with regards to physical intimacy in the public.
