JAIPUR: “Heritage hoteliers will now focus more on the domestic tourism market along with events and weddings. This is because foreign tourists are no longer indulging in long-haul vacations due to poor global economy,” said Indian Heritage Hotels Association (IHHA) general secretary Randhir Vikram Singh.
Singh was addressing a press conference August 29 for the forthcoming IHHA Convention 2019 at Hotel Hari Mahal Palace.
Speaking on the occasion, he said: “Heritage hotels have also become a hotspot for destination weddings and film shootings. Rajasthan can be put on the world map if heritage hoteliers come together to promote not only their heritage hotels but also other elements like natural and built heritage, rural heritage tourism, wedding in heritage hotels, film tourism, etc.”
The eighth edition of the IHHA Convention is themed at ‘Recast Indian Heritage Learning from Within’. The Convention will be held September 7 and 8 at Hotel Aaram Bagh Palace in Pushkar, he informed.
Singh further said that a major focus of the convention this year will be ‘Water Conservation’. The convention will feature discussions with experts on this issue to encourage hoteliers to come together and promote water conservation, recycling and harvesting.
Other than this, marketing will be another significant aspect of the IHHA 2019. Event managers and domestic travel agents from across the country have been invited to the event.
Convention chairman Rajendra Singh Pachar said that the need of the hour is to make heritage hotels iconic to Rajasthan. Heritage hotels should be a symbol of Rajasthan’s culture, customs, festivals, music, among others.
This time Pushkar has been chosen as the venue to showcase it as a large Vedic research center of India.
Highlighting the special attractions of the convention this year, Pachar said that the convention will witness participation by several experts who will speak on topics such as the New MSME Act, Rajasthan Investment Promotion Scheme (RIPS), relevance of social media for heritage hotels, the art of franchising and being a Maharaja for your region and creating heritage.
Other than this, the convention will also bring to the forefront – looking at natural and rural tourism as an opportunity and development, managing and monetizing palaces as well as the role of millennials in the future of heritage hotels.
Similarly, topics like the importance of natural and built heritage, the responsibility of the IHHA to support the government and create new destinations, creating new business models around heritage spaces and many more new and unique topics will also be discussed.
It is to be noted that country’s leading film distributor, Raj Bansal and representative of Federation of Rajasthan Event Managers Arshad Hussain will also be attending the event. They have been specially invited to give their inputs. IANS
