Rajasthan aims for 10cr tourist arrivals in next 5 yrs

The desert state of Rajasthan is all set to increase the tourist arrivals in the state to 10 crores in the next 5 years, which is almost the double of the number of domestic and foreign tourists arrived in 2018.

While addressing the 8th edition of the annual convention of Indian Heritage Hotels Association (IHHA) at Hotel Aaram Baagh in Pushkar, the state Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh said that with the new Tourism Policy there is scope for more incentives and enrichment of the sector. He also informed that under the leadership of the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, orders have been issued to waive off the requirement of obtaining any approvals for establishing new tourism units in the State, including heritage hotels, which are within the MSME investment limits for the first 3 years.

The Minister further said that an MoU has been signed with the UNESCO for reviving the arts like handicrafts, pottery, folk music and dance in Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Barmer and Bikaner. At present, there is a wide range of concessions for heritage hotels such as free conversion of land, exemption from road width norms, parking stipulations, etc.

Talking about the investment and tourism potential of Maharashtra, Maharashtra Tourism Minister Jaykumar Jitendrasinh Rawal said that the state organises 6 tourism festivals like the Orange Festival, Mumbai Mela Shopping Festival, among others.

Earlier during his welcome address, President of IHHA Maharaja Gaj Singh Jodhpur said that the IHHA has reached a new mark with 206 members across India. This year an effort has been made to bring together a number of event managers. Heritage hotels are now also increasingly dependant on events like weddings, film shoots, among others. The interaction with the event managers will benefit the hoteliers in bringing more such events.

In a highly enlightening session entitled ‘Relevance of Social Media for Heritage Hotels’, resource person Kalinika Chauhan said that social media should be integrated with other marketing tools of heritage hotels. In another session titled ‘Talking Maya for Ourselves’, Neemrana Hotels' CMD Amar Nath said that one must detach themselves from Maya which is an attraction towards material possessions.