Deputy Commissioner S.J. Somashekar has directed officials to complete the registration of new homestays, issuance of licenses to existing homestays and renewal of already registered homestays in the district by March 31.
He was speaking at a meeting of the District Tourism Development Committee held on Monday at the Deputy Commissioner’s office, which he chaired.
The Deputy Commissioner stated that the online registration and renewal process has been temporarily suspended and instructed officials to carry out physical inspections and offline verification of homestays until further orders.
Deputy Director of the Tourism Department and Deputy Divisional Officer Nitin Chakki informed that applications have been received for licenses for 100 new homestays as of February 7,while 180 applications have been submitted for renewal.
The Deputy Commissioner directed officials to review all pending applications on priority and ensure disposal by the end of March through field inspections.
Chamber of Commerce President Nagendra Prasad and Homestay Association President Monti Ganesh informed that several homestays had shut down during the COVID-19 period due to financial difficulties.
