Inclusion of Heritage in State Tourism Policy - Letter to Tourism Minister CT Ravi
Thursday, 3 September 2020
Shri CT Ravi
Hon Minister Tourism
Bangalore
Dear Sir:
Sub: Inclusion of Heritage in Tourism Policy
Greetings from Heritage Beku.
Thank you for all you are doing to promote the heritage of our beloved state. We know that this is an area close to your heart. The recent Town & Country Planning regulations passed also gives some solidity to the heritage framework and will certainly help preserve our state culture and heritage.
Given the recent alignment of Heritage shifting to the Tourism Department we have been delighted to interact and meet with our Tourism Secretary Mr. Anil Kumar and shared our perspectives on various issues last year. We hear the Tourism Policy is being worked on and fleshed out by you and your forward-thinking team. We have many suggestions and ideas and we humbly hope that we can also be included in your public consultation and outreach n tourism policy. We would be very appreciative if you could share with us the provisions of heritage under the draft tourism policy and any funds that have been allocated towards heritage tourism. We are sure that you have considered and prioritized heritage as it deserves.
The following references to Heritage were made in your Karnataka Tourism. Policy 2015-20 , and while its actual progress and implementation need to be evaluated, further steps also need to be taken to promote and preserve heritage in the 2020-2025 Tourism Policy:
· Encourage use of heritage buildings as hotels for providing accommodation facilities to tourists.
· Heritage zones will be earmarked around the sites of Hampi, Pattadakal, Badami, Aihole, Bidar, Vijayapura, etc. and development will be supported in accordance with the master plans prepared for such locations.
· Efforts would also be made to include more heritage sites into the UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites for bringing in significant international recognition and tourist traffic into the State
· Adoption/ management/ sponsorship programs in heritage zones would be supported to create ownership between locals/corporate for monuments, temples and destinations and to improve the maintenance of existing tourist destinations.
· Rural tourism will be encouraged to showcase rural life, art, culture, cuisine and heritage at villages/ countryside and will provide opportunities for economic and social development of the local communities.
· Development Rights for Heritage Buildings (DRHB) - Development of heritage buildings for tourism related activities shall be eligible for the award of development rights certificate from the local body concerned, as per prevailing development regulations and approvals. However, the private operator/ entrepreneur shall not use the Heritage Building for any other purpose other than the purpose for which it was granted the development rights certificate, for at least a period of 10 years from the date of issue of the certificate.
· Tourist Interpretation Centre is a facility for dissemination of knowledge of natural or cultural heritage to tourists; it provides a visitor an interpretation of the place of interest through a variety of media, such as video displays and exhibitions of material.
· Skill development courses for conducting heritage walks & nature trails; training for guides & tour operators;
· Identify/map culture and heritage assets and prepare a plan for protection and management of the same.
· Medium Term (3-5 Years) Design tour packages based on specific themes, preferably those that involve the geographical boundary and heritage of more than one State,
· Tourism Cluster around Heritage to be developed : Hampi, Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal, Vijayapura, Kalaburgi, Bidar
As you are aware Heritage Beku is the premier citizen initiative on heritage in Bangalore and has taken great interest in city heritage , as well as had some significant impact on the space in Bangalore. Some of your initiatives especially the emphasis on cultural heritage via informal means at the taluk/panchayat level is remarkable and innovative. We would also request if we could be made a part of the heritage deliberations in other tourism initiatives for the city and state as well so as to be able to share some of our suggestions, inputs on the platform and showcasing of heritage of our beautiful city.
I have already had the privilege of meeting with our Chief Secretary and Tourism Secretary with our team and I look forward to also meeting with our Hon Tourism Minister at the earliest.
We hope that we can add some value representing as we do Citizen initiative and public discussion. We look forward to your response on this and to greater involvement and inclusion of #HeritageBeku in the Tourism department and policy.
Thanking You,
Your sincerely
Priya Chetty-Rajagopal
Founder, Heritage Beku
CC: Mr. Anil Kumar Jha, Principal Secretary, Tourism
CC: All Concerned