 "Rajasthan travel industry seeks infra push to boost wedding tourism")
Rajasthan’s travel industry wants infrastructure and connectivity in the state to be improved to support the government’s plan to promote wedding tourism.
Industry experts say if destination weddings are to be promoted in the state, the government will have to provide good infrastructure at places with heritage properties.
“At present, except for Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Ajmer, infrastructure has not been fully developed in the state,” said Gaurav Khandelwal, who owns a travel agency.
He points out that due to a lack of infrastructure, destination weddings have not become popular in Shekhawati, Kota-Bundi, and Pali-Sirohi regions of the state.
“In such a situation, the entire load during the wedding season falls on these four or five major cities,” he said.
Tour operator Sanjay Kaushik says if Indians living abroad want to organise back home in Shekhawati, they will struggle finding a suitable heritage property.
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“But getting a heritage destination is not the only thing. Arrangements to accommodate 100-200 guests become a problem.”
Kaushik said Shekhawati, Kota-Bundi and Pali-Sirohi do not have big hotels and the government should give sops.
Air connectivity is a problem in these regions too.
Kaushik said Shekhawati is world famous for its painted frescoes and heritage havelis. These “unique havelis” can become venues for destination weddings.
Ranvijay Singh, senior vice-president at Hotel Federation of Rajasthan, said if the government promotes infrastructure in the state, it will be of double benefit.
“On the one hand, new tourist destinations will be created in the state and tourism will get a boost, while destination weddings will also increase,” Singh says.
“There have been talks with the state government regarding the new tourism unit policy and we feel that the government will work to improve the tourism infrastructure in the state in the new policy,” he said.
Bhavani Shankar Mali, general secretary of All Wedding Industries Federation, Rajasthan, said 1.5-2 million weddings take place every year in Rajasthan.
“In such a situation, if efforts are made by the state government to improve infrastructure facilities, it may increase destination weddings by 5-10 per cent,” said Mali.
The Great Indian Travel Bazaar, which was organised in Jaipur earlier in May, highlighted the state as a place for destination weddings through the Wed in India Expo.