Bed-and-breakfast is the ‘inn’ thing on the tourism menu of Punjab. In keeping with UNWTO recommendations, Punjab Tourism and Heritage Development Board (PHTPB) has readied to dish out bed-and-breakfast scheme for to tap the short-stay visitors to Amristar and Patiala.
Later, the scheme will be replicated to other cities with high tourism potential. The Board has framed the guidelines to implement the scheme. After these are approved, the Board will invite applications from home-owners in the state to join the scheme. Home owners who will run this business will also get training and financial incentives.
Approximately one lakh devotees visit the Golden Temple daily, and the number is significantly higher on weekends, or during the Sikh religious festivals. In the recent years, Patiala has also been growing as a tourism destination, with the increasing popularity of the Patiala Heritage Festival.
Razit Bhandari, Marketing Manager PHTPB, said that while framing the guidelines, the Board has taken care that Punjab does not burn its fingers with the scheme, as has been the case in Chandigarh. ?We have proposed to allow house-owners with only four rooms available for the bed-and-breakfast scheme to be part of it. Every applicant must be prepared at all times to receive a short notice inspection visit by the PHTPB?s independent inspection team,? he said. The tourism department is considering a proposal to involve private professional groups in the implementation and monitoring of the scheme.