A Study on Role of Sustainable Rural Tourism in Economic Development of Local Communities: A Case of Jammu Region Kesar Vinay1, Soodan Vishal2 1Lecturer, Department of Management Studies, Kathua Campus, University of Jammu, Jammu, India, vinaykesarmba@gmail.com 2Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Mittal School of Business, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, India, soodan88@rediffmail.com Online published on 7 April, 2017. Abstract Tourism makes a good contribution to native economies through job creation and sustainable development. This importance will increase manifold within the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The geographic region in this state for the most part captivated with holidaymaker flow, attributable to its nice potential of attracting tourists from India and yet as from the opposite elements of the globe. Tourism is one among the foremost necessary contributor to the GDP of state economy and is that the one of largest industry. It“s a supply of exchange for the country, which comes through tourists and conjointly provides employment; yields government income etc. The study focuses on rural tourism sustainable development background, economic parts of the community and therefore the role of the authorities. Some ways area unit required to make sure the event of rural tourism and to sustain the local people economy. This importance increases manifold in the state of Jammu and Kashmir which is largely dependent on tourist inflow, because of its great potential of attracting tourists from India and as well as from the other parts of the world. The methodology adopted includes site observation of five home stay villages in Jammu and extensive literature reviews. The findings of the research suggest that a sustainable tourism development in rural areas of the state will contribute significantly towards economic development of the local community. Some strategies are needed to ensure the development of rural tourism and to sustain the local community economy. Top Keywords Economy, Integration, Rural Tourism, Sustainable Development. Top |