First Meeting since the Sad Demise of its President Randhir Singh Mandawa
Unlike other travel and tourism bodies, IHHA has a unique fabric, governed by a very strong statute. Succession plans were discussed and it has been decided that we need to create a young body of women and men who will carry forth the organization. The meeting paid homage to the late Randhir Singh of Mandawa, a person who had steered the association for last innumerable years, ever since its inception. Randhir, along with his late brother, had been instrumental in putting heritage hotels on the map of India, being among the first, at Mandawa Castle, to create this new vertical in Indian hospitality.
Under the guidance of HH Jodhpur, Randhir had last donned the hat of President, and was working on newer dimension for the association, when an untimely illness left a huge void in the world of heritage hospitality. IHHA remembered Randhir most fondly and IHHA placed on record his contribution to the heritage hospitality movement in India. IHHA has instituted a rolling trophy, a memento in his name to be offered to the best Heritage Hotel and Heritage practice across India. The work that Randhir has done with us cannot be erased in a few years. It’ll be a permanent mark in our history, said a source.
In its deliberations, IHHA discussed and arrived at the need to do some global marketing for Indian Heritage tourism. The association so far been a more Rajasthan centric organization. Now the members see the need to become pan-India centric and play a very important role across the country in highlighting new products and taking them across the globe.
Suman Billa, additional secretary, ministry of tourism, government of India was the convention speaker to explore the possibility where IHHA and the ministry could collaborate to promote Heritage tourism across the globe. His presentation aimed bringing to the table the gap between the demand and supply in the sector.
Very importantly, Heritage tourism has not come of age in India in spite of the fact that the country is flooded with Heritage products. Not just built Heritage but also intangible Heritage, art, culture etc. This mammoth task of carrying this across the globe is not possible by just the palace owners, hotels or the government, by each alone. It has to be done by a joint force and that would be a part of the master plan of IHHA in the coming years.
“As host, it was my responsibility to expose my colleagues at the IHHA to the art and culture of this region’, says Steve Borgia, owner and mentor, Indeco Hotels. Especially, that part of the Heritage World of South India as more focused on Tamil Nadu. Therefore, the 3 days were made good use of to showcasing the true heritage activities, positioned to make the very meeting an experience. It was surely not just fun and frolic but there was a lot of thought process that went alongside, in the deliberations and the road map ahead. But Steve was able to showcase his property, Indeco Swamimalai to other stakeholders, most of whom were for the first time experiencing heritage as in a village setting, in the southern part of the country. The experience was breathtaking, localised, authentic, steeped in tradition, on the ground living as you were a local yourself.
Over the years, Steve has persevered and created an enviable reputation for his painstaking efforts to revive heritage, an effort that is now being passed onto the next generation, his daughter Priya, who has adapted herself to ensure this legacy gets built upon further.
Speaking about the work done at the convention, “we literally road mapped the future of Heritage tourism not just the Heritage hotels. By 2026 we will be riding high on that track to make India a truly Heritage destination. We are currently working on a white paper that will be a road map and then we will meet with the government and move forward in a year’s time”, said Steve.
The 23rd annual convention and the 11th AGM was held last month at Indeco Hotel, Swamimalai in Tamil Nadu.