The Rajasthan state cabinet on Wednesday gave a nod to the Rajasthan Tourism Policy 2020. The new tourism policy seeks to promote the state as a major tourism brand in both national and international arenas. Prioritizing lesser-known destinations, expanding existing products and facilitating better experience for the tourists are some of the goals that the policy aims to achieve.
Under this policy, two to three major monuments or sites in every division of the state will be transformed into ‘iconic monuments’. The responsibility of the management of these sites have been given to the new District Tourism Development Committees.
Private museums showcasing cultural heritage of the state will also be promoted under a museum grant scheme.
Villages with well-known Heritage hotels or sites serving as prominent hubs for art and crafts will be declared as ‘The Special Heritage Village’ (SHV) or a ‘Special Craft Village’ (SCV). These SHVs and SCVs will be further developed into new tourist hubs.
As innovation is the key nowadays, the tourism department will create a list of innovative experiential tourism products offered by private stakeholders. An E-brochure along with guidelines for certification of such products will be published by the department. For the creation of these tourism products, an incentive scheme for the startups will also be introduced.
The stretches around Sambhar, Pushkar, Nagaur and Bikaner will be promoted as new desert destinations. Another incentive scheme is likely to be created as per the policy, to make these spots suitable and more attractive for film shooting.
The policy also aims to promote air, aqua and land-based adventure tourism using special incentives.
New sites for wildlife and eco-tourism will be created with an eco-certification scheme for restaurants, hospitality units operating in the areas. For the certification, the guidelines will be made investor-friendly.
The policy will also take up a project dedicated to conserve havelis in heritage zones including Shekhawati and Braj areas.
Direct marketing platforms to be created as per the policy to make use of the rich cuisine and crafts of the state. MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) and wedding tourism will also be promoted as per the plan laid out by the policy.
The tourism department will identify 10-20 potential weekend destinations in proximity to inter-stare borders. Once identified, these places will be marketed to boost tourism. To improve the road connectivity to these destinations, an infrastructure gap study will be carried out.
The department will also launch an initiative called Rajasthan Calling in India and across borders to attract non-resident Rajasthanis.
In a bid to bring innovation to the tourism sector, Rajasthan Startup Tourism Connect, an yearly event will be also be organized.
(Feature image source: Thrillopillia)
