LUCKNOW, May 17 -- Students from Oslo, Norway participated in farming activities and village experiences at Mathura's Nandgaon farm stay on Saturday as Uttar Pradesh Tourism used World Agri-Tourism Day to showcase its expanding rural tourism model across 17 districts. The programme was organised under the state's 'Visit My State' campaign to promote village-based experiential travel and connect visitors with agriculture, local culture and community-led hospitality. Activities such as farm stays, beekeeping workshops, folk performances, natural farming sessions and local cuisine festivals were held across tourism villages in Jhansi, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Prayagraj, Etawah, Bulandshahr, Lucknow, Saharanpur, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Siddharthnagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Chitrakoot, Mahoba, Hamirpur and Banda. In Barabanki's Rajauli village, students from a Lucknow school visited a beekeeping centre where they learnt about bee species, honey production and different varieties of honey. In Jhansi's Patha Kharka village, students explored tulsi cultivation, pottery and traditional village cuisine. Visitors in Prayagraj's Singraur and Etawah's Bara Khera also took part in agro-tourism exposure visits, farm stay experiences and nature trails. A two-day convergence training programme on agro-tourism and natural farming was also launched at Bhagwanpur tourism village in Bulandshahr, where self-help group members and farmer-service providers were trained in sustainable farming practices and tourism-linked rural enterprises. Officials said the initiative is part of a broader strategy to develop tourism circuits connecting major destinations with nearby villages and lesser-known rural attractions. Amrit Abhijat, additional chief secretary, said UP is steadily building an experiential rural tourism model under the 'Visit My State' campaign. He said the state has notified 234 rural tourism villages, including Jait in Mathura, Shringverpur in Prayagraj, Thakur Nagar in Sitapur, Kathwara in Barabanki and Selha in Pilibhit, which are attracting domestic and international visitors. According to the tourism department, around 2,200 women in 30 villages have been trained in local arts and crafts. Besides this, 380 boatmen, 410 homestay operators, 215 rural coordinators etc., have received training to strengthen community-led tourism infrastructure....