- By Kamakshi Bishnoi
- Wed, 04 Jun 2025 04:00 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Uttar Pradesh government, in a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday, approved the Bed and Breakfast and Homestay Policy-2025 to promote tourism and generate local employment. Under this new policy, tourists visiting religious and tourist destinations across the state will now have access to affordable homestay options, while residents will be able to earn by offering rooms in their homes.
The policy identifies 229 locations across the state for implementing the scheme. Homestay operators will now be required to operate in accordance with the new policy guidelines.
According to Finance Minister Suresh Khanna, Uttar Pradesh leads the country in tourist footfall, with 64.90 crore tourists visiting the state in 2024, including over 22.69 lakh foreign visitors. In 2023, the state had received 48 crore tourists, including 16 lakh foreign tourists.
To accommodate the growing number of visitors, the government is focusing on expanding lodging facilities. As per Mukesh Kumar Meshram, Principal Secretary of the Tourism Department, individuals can now register one to six rooms within their homes as homestays, with a cap of 12 beds. Each tourist will be allowed to stay for a maximum of seven consecutive days.
The registration process will be overseen by a district-level committee headed by the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police. A registration fee of Rs 500 to Rs 750 has been fixed for rural homestays, while an application fee of Rs 2,000 has been set for urban or silver category homestays.
Previously, due to the absence of a dedicated state policy, homestay operators had to register through the central government’s NIDHI+ portal. While the new policy initially included financial incentives for setting up homestays, the cabinet has decided to withdraw that proposal.
So far, the Tourism Department has approved several homestays under this scheme, including 19 in Ayodhya division, 12 in Sultanpur, Barabanki, and Amethi, 10 in Varanasi, Ghazipur, and Chandauli, 23 in Lucknow division, 17 in Devipatan, 24 in Chitrakoot, and 17 in Rae Bareli, Lakhimpur Kheri, and Hardoi. These will now be brought under the new policy and will be required to provide breakfast facilities to guests.