Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Saturday, 30 May 2026, highlighted how villages across the state are emerging as new centres of tourism, culture, and livelihood under his government's 'good governance' push, pointing specifically to a home-stay policy that is generating income for rural families, tribal youth, and women's self-help groups.

Context

In a post on X, CM Sai said, 'सुशासन सरकार के प्रयासों से छत्तीसगढ़ के गांव अब पर्यटन, संस्कृति और आजीविका के नए केंद्र बन रहे हैं' ('Through the efforts of the good-governance government, villages of Chhattisgarh are now becoming new centres of tourism, culture, and livelihood'). He credited the state's rich tribal traditions, natural beauty, folk culture, and rural lifestyle for attracting visitors from across the country and the world.

The Chief Minister added that the government's vision is threefold: safeguard heritage, conserve nature, and open new doors of prosperity in villages — describing this as 'एक नए युग की ओर' ('towards a new era') for tourism in the state.

Policy Backdrop

Chhattisgarh's home-stay policy is the centrepiece of this push, enabling local households to register as visitor accommodation units and earn directly from tourist footfall. The model bundles accommodation with exposure to tribal culture, local cuisine, and nature-based experiences, positioning villages as destinations rather than transit points.

The initiative aligns with the Swadesh Darshan scheme launched by the Union Ministry of Tourism in 2014-15, which funds thematic circuits — including tribal and rural tourism — across states. Chhattisgarh, with a tribal population exceeding 30 per cent of its total, holds significant potential under such frameworks, given its dense forests, waterfalls, and living indigenous cultural practices.

Across India, multiple states have adopted home-stay and tourism-village models under the broader Atmanirbhar Bharat framework to curb rural-to-urban migration and diversify local economies.

Stakeholders and Impact

Rural families, tribal youth, and women self-help groups are identified as the primary beneficiaries of the home-stay policy. By converting existing homes into visitor lodgings, participants avoid large capital investment while tapping a growing market for authentic, off-the-beaten-path travel experiences.

The 'Tourism Village' model described by CM Sai also carries cultural preservation value: when tribal traditions, crafts, and folk performances become economic assets, communities gain a material incentive to sustain them. This dual function — livelihood creation alongside heritage protection — is a recurring argument in sustainable-tourism policy circles.

Women's self-help groups stand to benefit not only from hosting income but from ancillary opportunities in food, handicrafts, and guided cultural experiences, potentially expanding their economic agency beyond traditional agriculture.

What's Next

The effectiveness of the programme will be measured by concrete indicators: the number of home-stay units formally registered, tourist footfall in designated tourism villages, and whether the state's next budget allocates additional funds for tribal tourism infrastructure such as connectivity, sanitation, and visitor interpretation centres.

If the model scales, Chhattisgarh could strengthen its position on India's cultural and eco-tourism map, drawing visitors who currently bypass the state in favour of more established destinations. The broader test will be whether income gains reach the most marginalised tribal households or remain concentrated among better-connected rural families.