Rural Tourism and Its Impact on the Economy

Abstract

The changing tastes and preferences of tourists have given rise to a new form of tourism, rural tourism. This new form of tourism plays an important role to change the rural economy and living standard of villagers. Meghalaya, the abode of clouds, is famous for a number of its villages and attract thousands of tourists every year. This research aims to study the impact of rural tourism on the economy of the village. For this study, Ialong village has been selected, and 150 people were interviewed with the help of a structured questionnaire and insights of people concerned were noted and analyzed. It was found that people believe the facilities of electricity, hygiene, toilets, accommodation have improved and have accounted for more influx of tourists into the region. However, lack of exposure of the different villages and their offerings in advertisement media have limited the potential of growth of tourism in these villages.