Many of us have been searching for such an alternative that will promote tourism in the beautiful outskirts of our country without causing any damage to any kind of natural resources. An easy and acceptable answer to this dilemma has been started to practice in Nepal in name of "Home-stay".   The term "Home stay" may be new to most of us. But in Nepal it is a very common term. This is a new concept developed to promote eco-tourism in the deprived but culturally and ecologically rich villages of Nepal. This aims to promote tourism in the hills and villages of Nepal without degrading any kind of natural resources. In layman terms, Home-stay is a type of eco-tourism in which the tourist visits a culturally rich beautiful ethnic community but instead of staying in expensive five star hotel, tourist stays as paid guest in the house of the local villagers. While visiting the beautiful community, the tourist has the additional benefit of getting acknowledged with the culture and daily life of the people as well as they can avoid the cost of expensive hotels. Similarly, it empowers the locals both economically and socially, and also provide them a closer chance to emit the modern lifestyle and learn many new things from tourist. It has two-way benefit for both of them.

This has proven to be beneficial for almost all of the parts of Nepal. It helps to develop tourism without the risk of resource depletion through the establishment of costly hotels and resorts. Similarly it is beneficial for the local people as well as the tourist. This practice is now practiced in many tourist area of Nepal as a new way of developing Eco-tourism. Some of the most renowned Home-stay in Nepal are located in Ghandruk of Pokhara among the local Gurung community, Kaulepani of Lamjung among the local Rai community and many more. Some of the noted benefits of this method of eco-tourism are listed below:

1) Resource conservation: Home-stay tourism has no harmful effect on the resources of the community. There is no need of establishment of cozy resorts and hotels for the development of tourism. Similarly, it has an additional benefit of resource identification and conservation.

2) It helps for social and economical empowerment of the local community as it provides them a direct access to the revenue collected from tourist.

3) It is cheaper for tourist as they do not have to spend money on expensive hotels. It gives them a more closer chance to study and get acquainted with the local livelihood of ethnic community.

4) And last but not the least, it is the best way to promote eco-tourism.