Rural Tourism in India – A Perspective on the Role of Rural Middle Class in Engendering the Experience Economy

Abstract

This chapter challenges the urban bias in studies on the middle class in India and underlines the need to focus on the significant role rural middle class plays in economic diversification. Given that more than 23% of the upper middle class are located in rural India, it is surprising to note that their contribution in supporting experience economy remains under-researched. Thus, this chapter fills a key gap in existing studies on rural tourism in India by underlining how rural middle-class has triggered a huge demand for travel within the country itself for rural cultural programmes and different schemes to promote rural heritage sights.

Citation

Saxena, G. (2022), "Rural Tourism in India – A Perspective on the Role of Rural Middle Class in Engendering the Experience Economy", Chowdhary, N., Billa, S. and Tiwari, P. (Ed.) Indian Tourism, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 143-156. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80262-937-820221010