villages of india 5,93,731 Inhabited villages of India all indian villages rural tourism States and Union Territories of India

Almost 72% of the population resides in

5,93,731 Inhabited villages of India

India, a union of states, is a Sovereign, Secular, Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary system of Government. There are 28 states and 7 Union territories in the country. Union Territories are administered by the President through an Administrator appointed by him. From the largest to the smallest, each State/UT of India has a unique demography, history and culture, dress, festivals, language etc.

RURAL TOURISM

Tourism growth potential can be harnessed as a strategy for Rural Development. The development of a strong platform around the concept of Rural Tourism is definitely useful for a country like India, where almost 74% of the population resides in its 7 million villages. Across the world the trends of industrialization and development have had an urban centric approach. Alongside, the stresses of urban lifestyles have led to a "counter-urbanization" syndrome. This has led to growing interest in the rural areas. At the same time this trend of urbanization has led to falling income levels, lesser job opportunities in the rural areas leading to an urbanization syndrome in the rural areas. Rural Tourism is one of the few activities which can provide a solution to these problems. Besides, there are other factors which are shifting the trend towards rural tourism like increasing levels of awareness, growing interest in heritage and culture and improved accessibility, and environmental consciousness. In the developed countries, this has resulted in a new style of tourism of visiting village settings to experience and live a relaxed and healthy lifestyle. This concept has taken the shape of a formal kind of Rural Tourism.

Tourism has been recognized as an instrument of economic and social development. Tourism has been traditionally viewed as a great force in promoting understanding among nations and, within the national boundaries, facilitating emotional integration. The tourism has been accepted as an important catalyst for economic development. It is in terms of its contribution to employment generation, foreign exchange earnings, incomes generation and output growth that tourism has significant impart on our economy.

For example; The Ajanta and Ellora rock-cut cave temple complexes are located near Aurangabad in the state of Maharashtra. These monuments contain wall and ceiling paintings at Ajanta, widely considered to be the earliest and finest examples of Buddhist pictorial art and at Ellora, important art and sculptural evidence of the emerging tradition of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain artistic forms. Both the Ajanta and Ellora cave complexes have been accorded 'World Heritage Site' status by UNESCO identifying them as monuments of such world significance that they deserve conservation and protection for the benefit of mankind. The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has successfully implemented First Phase of Ajanta-Ellora Conservation and Tourism Development Project for Ajanta and Ellora and Second Phase is being started soon, which will improve tourist infrastructure, develop areas on a selective basis for integrated growth, along with the marketing of destinations.

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