30 minute interview

‘Today heritage hotels are expanding their facilities’

Rakesh Mathur President, WelcomHeritage

WelcomHeritage, a joint venture of ITC Hotels that can boast of having the best heritage hotels in the country, is on a spree to sign properties across the country as heritage hotels. Rakesh Mathur, its president, divulges details to Praveen K Singh

What are your criteria for signing a new heritage property?

Any property that promotes heritage tourism can be signed as a heritage hotel. We encourage owners of these properties to convert them into productive assets and assist them in restoration by providing technical expertise, marketing, sales and operations support services. We also help in the preservation of the environment while promoting heritage tourism.

How many new properties are you signing and where?

We already have 45 exclusive heritage destinations at the moment and plan to double the number in the next three years. In order to promote heritage tourism in the country, we are signing 10 more properties in states like Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Rajasthan and Goa. Many of these properties are new.

In terms of creating new circuits, I can say that WelcomHeritage is giving special attention to the north-eastern states as they have not been properly explored. We are also looking at properties in Orissa and Jharkhand that can be turned into heritage hotels. Meanwhile, we are also signing Goan homes. There will be at least one home comprising four to five rooms in every town.

What are the new trends emerging in the heritage hotels category?

Today, heritage hotels are expanding their facilities in terms of lounge, spa, etc. We basically aim at promoting the rich Indian culture, her handicrafts and cuisines. We provide customers with a special holiday - timeless bazaars, elephant and camel safaris, local festivals, desert camps and a variety of adventure and sport activities.

What kind of support are you getting from other agencies in terms of policies?

Since tourism comes under the state government, every state has its own policy. The Rajasthan government recently announced its hotel policy where it gives special considerations to heritage hotels. It now recognises a hotel classified by the government of India as a heritage hotel, heritage classic hotel or heritage grand hotel, or as a star category hotel. Also, the state government has allowed heritage buildings to be available to the private sector to be converted to heritage hotels. We hope that our state too will come up with special provisions for heritage hotels.