Inaugurating the two-day National Rural Tourism Workshop in Hyderabad today he said, the state governments should also take up the responsibility of promoting their Rural Tourism products individually as the success of Rural Tourism and its products largely depends on the effective marketing. He said, establishment of the linkage with the travel industry suppliers viz. tour operators and travel agents, is a key step in marketing the Rural Tourism projects. This, he said, can be done only by educating the travel trade fraternity on the Rural Tourism products and make them confident in selling it to the consumers.

Shri Sultan Ahmed said, the Rural Tourism Projects initially started off in 2003-04 when Ministry of Tourism partnered by UNDP took up this initiative. 36 rural Projects sites in 20 States across India were identified covering skilled diversity of rural artisan communities. Based on the strong outcomes of the Project, Union Ministry of Tourism has engaged another 122 sites, thus presently totaling 158 rural sites in 28 States.

The Additional Director General, Tourism Shri Devesh Chaturvedi in his speech said, Rural Tourism recognises the role of women in civil society, the primacy of human development and preservation of heritage. He said, it also draws on the Gurukul process that is one of the earliest learning systems in the country's cultural history. For the visitor, Rural Tourism adds value through programmes in art and craft imparted by skilled local artisans. He said, village entertainment groups unveil local history and culture, natural and oral treasures.

The highlight of the workshop was the release of the approach paper for Rural Tourism for Andhra Pradesh by the Union Minister of State for Tourism, Shri Sultan Ahmed. Andhra Pradesh is the first state to have released such a document. Minister of Tourism, Andhra Pradesh, Smt. Geetha Reddy was also present on the occasion. The workshop also witnessed presentation of four case studies by rural sites and presentation on use of MIS software. All the participants of the workshop are scheduled to have a field visit on 24th February 2010 to Pochampally village, a rural tourism site in Andhra Pradesh for on-the-spot study of the site.