The 23rd Annual General Meeting and 11th Annual Convention of the Indian Heritage Hotels Association (IHHA) is being held this year on 19 and 20 September at Indeco Hotels Swamimalai in Kumbakonam in Tanjore of Tamil Nadu. The theme of the AGM and Convention this year will be ‘Revitalizing Indian Heritage’. This is the first time that the IHHA AGM and Convention is going to be held in a state other than Rajasthan. The two-day event will be inaugurated by the Union Tourism Minister, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Tourism Minister, Government of Tamil Nadu, K. Ramachandran. The event will be chaired by President Emeritus of IHHA, HH Gaj Singh. IHHA aims to infuse youthful and sustained energy to create a roadmap for reviving heritage tourism in the country. There are a total of 206 heritage hotels pan India and about 140 heritage hotels in Rajasthan. This was informed by the General Secretary of IHHA, Major Gaj Singh.
Vice President of IHHA, Steve Borgia will be the convener of this historic convention. He informed that the aim of this convention is not only to inspire the younger generation to take up leadership but also to see how IHHA can play an important and meaningful role in promoting heritage tourism across the world. During the convention, there will be discussions on how to market heritage hotels in India and abroad with a better strategy, so that heritage tourism can be promoted in the country. IHHA has always been committed to the preservation of the country’s heritage, which includes forts, palaces, rivers, monuments, havelis, lakes, etc. Now is the time to entrust the responsibility of preserving the country’s heritage to our future generations. He further informed that on 20 September, the Tourism Minister of Tamil Nadu, K. Ramachandran will inaugurate the convention and will deliver the keynote address. Around 150 heritage hoteliers from across India are expected to attend this meeting.
It is to be noted that IHHA, formed in the year 1990, is the first organisation to promote heritage tourism by preserving and reviving heritage hotels. The first annual convention of IHHA was organised to revive the rich, cultural, historical and architectural heritage of India. The convention was held on 21 and 22 September 2012 at Ranthambore.
