Tea Tourism - Uttarakhand Tea Development Board

The scheme “Tea Tourism” is implemented by the Uttarakhand Tea Development Board, almora under the Department of Horticulture, Government of Uttarakhand. It aims to promote tea tourism in Uttarakhand by attracting visitors to tea gardens and factories, creating local jobs, and supporting the state’s tea industry.

Presently, the Board is conducting tea tourism activities in the tea gardens of Ghorakhal (Nainital), Champawat, and Kausani (Bageshwar), which are yielding the following benefits:

• Tourists visiting the state, along with other scenic attractions, are also visiting the tea gardens and tea factories operated by the Board.
• The Board collects a nominal entry fee from tourists visiting the plantations.
• The revenue generated from the entry fee is utilized for developing tea tourism facilities in the same gardens.
• The Board earns an annual income of approximately ₹75 lakh by organizing guided tours and tea-tasting sessions for visitors.
• During the tourist season, about 500-600 tourists visit the tea gardens and tea factories every day.
• Tea tourism operated by the Board is providing direct and indirect employment opportunities to local residents.

1. The applicant must be a firm or an individual belonging to Uttarakhand.
2. Firms or individuals with a minimum of three years of experience in the field of tourism are selected through the e-tendering process.
3. A 5-year contract is signed with the selected firm or individual.

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• The tea cafeteria and tourist cottages constructed by the Board for tea tourism in the Champawat tea garden are being operated on a lease basis by firms selected through the e-tendering process.
• The tea cafeteria under the Ghorakhal tea garden is being operated by a women’s self-help group.
• In Bageshwar district, the district administration has constructed a tea cafeteria near the tea factory located on the land of the Tea Development Board and handed it over to the Board. The e-tendering process is being carried out to lease it for operation.