Hoteliers plan ‘battlefield tourism’ to attract visitors

In Rajasthan, you could soon relive battles as if you were a part of history. The Indian Heritage Hotels Association (IHHA), during its seventh annual convention in Bharatpur, will explore battlefield tourism as a new form of tourism in the state.

South-Western Army Command’s general officer commanding-in-chief Lt-Gen Cherish Mathson will deliver a lecture on the topic to introduce the hoteliers to this new form of tourism already popular in the US and South Africa, said convenor Rajendra Singh Pachar.

There have been some important battles in Rajasthan such as the Battle of Jalore (1310-11) in which Alauddin Khalji defeated Kanhad Deo after a long war, Battle of Sammel (1544) in which Sher Shah Suri had a pyrrhic victory against the army of Jaita and Kumpa, and the two Mughal

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invasions of Marwar in 1562-1583 (by Akbar) and 1679-1707 (by Auranzeb).

Pachar said these battlegrounds will be used to promote battlefield tourism.

“The idea is promoted by Lt-Gen Mathson and we will make detailed road map after his presentation on the topic at the IHHA convention,” he said.

According to the IHHA blog,

heritage hotels in the country operate in buildings like forts, castles, palaces, hunting lodges and traditional havelis or period buildings.

“We are all here to explore, debate, deliberate and to arrive at a definite road map for resurrection of this sacred land,” said IHHA president Gaj Singh, who is from the erstwhile royal family of Jodhpur