Lessons from Rural India

"Does the road less travelled appeal to you? If yes, then you're on the right track" so goes the opening statement to Explore Rural India. The Wall Street Journal gives a good account on what Rural Tourism means to Indians.

Behind eight swaying curtains lies India's online rural showcase to the world: An image gallery, brochures, visitor appreciation, a visual gallery, events, a slideshow, rural sites, and visitor feedback. Behind the image gallery curtain, for example, India is classed by colour to highlight its many cultures and features: Pure White, Green Tea, Mustard Yellow, Water Colour, Deep Purple, Stone Grey, Mystic Maroon and Technicolour. One can search rural India by destination, by map, and by circuits (routes). The Product Showroom displays local arts and crafts with contact information to the artisan.

A click on Kumbalanghii, for example, takes us to a place of indigenous fishing, crab farming, prawn culture, coir making and boat building. Bunavasi takes us to a most ancient spiritual centre of India. 28 such sites are presented.

Performing artists revitalize small rural town

Rosebud School of the Arts, Alberta, Canada

This is how to build a rural attraction with a population of about 100. In the village of Rosebud, once a ranching, farming and mining community going into decline, the Rosebud School of the Arts was created, attracting performing artists from the USA and across Canada. About an hour's drive from Calgary, this community started with one arts camp in 1973 by school teacher Laverne Ericsson. It now has a dinner theatre, with stage plays and pre-show entertainment that attract patrons from nearby Calgary and bus tours from across Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

Rosebud links with events and attractions in surrounding communities, such as the Atlas Coal Mine Historic Site in Drumheller and local ghost towns such as Wayne. Rosebud now sports its own radio show and recording studio.