Indigenous Knowledge for Promoting Rural Health Tourism: A Case Study of Mayong

Abstract

North-East India is one of the bio hot-spot of global scenario. The abundance of various flora and fauna resources has been widely used for traditional healing among the population of the region. In Morigaon district of Assam, there is a village called Mayong. Rural tourism is defined as tourism activities that take place in non-urban areas. Mayong village is originally famous as ‘land of black magic’. However, it is also known for its indigenous knowledge about various traditional treatments that can heal many ailments. The rising popularity of Ayurveda has drawn many followers towards the use of herbal remedies for better health. Health tourism is a popular genre of tourism where people travel to receive health treatment. The paper attempts to explore the potentiality of the indigenous knowledge of Mayong village in herbs and traditional healing practices to attract tourists and promote rural health tourism.

Keywords: Indigenous Knowledge, Mayong, Rural Tourism, Health Tourism, Assam, India

JEL Classification: Z23,I31, M31, O21,O24,