Susanta Ranjan Chaini and Ashok Kumar
Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management, SGT University, Gurugram-122 505 (Haryana), India
*(e-mail : dean.fhtm@sgtuniversity.org; Mobile : 9861314746)
Received : April 29, 2021; Accepted : June 21, 2021)
ABSTRACT
India is an agrarian economy in which more than 70% population is directly or indirectly dependent on
agriculture for its livelihood. However, the contribution of agriculture to national GDP is decreasing and
currently it is 14.5%. Tourism may become one of the economy driving forces of our country. India has a
huge cultivable land which is the main strength of agritourism. When agriculture is mixed with tourism
activities, new avenues are formulated for the society. Now-a-days many forms of tourism are popular
but amongst all agritourism is gaining importance throughout the world. Agritourism is one of the
segments of rural tourism. In a country like India, there exists a huge potential and growth of agritourism.
It has been noticed that several tourists prefer to visit the peace and nature loving places than busy
destinations. Agritourism helps tourists to interact with the local public and at the same time to enjoy
the nature. Tourists can enjoy the horticultural, ornamental, pulses and cereal crops. In India, the
state of Haryana is famous for its agricultural produce and products. The fresh wet flavour of the soil,
cool breezes and spectacular scenic views add glamour to agritourism. It is suggested that the farmers
of various rural pockets must formulate and establish co-operative society for the growth and development
of agritourism centres, where country’s cuisine, tradition, fairs and festivals associated with the
agriculture can very well be depicted. It will add to rural livelihood improvement, better education by
interaction with different people, more cultural tolerance and better understanding among the people.
Key words : : Tourism, agritourism, heritage, cuisine, GDP, Haryana