Spinning heirlooms

Gujarati royal families are coming together to hard sell their heritage properties for tourism.

In a move that could give the increasingly visible heritage properties in Rajasthan a run for their money, royal families of Gujarat are coming together to sell their own palaces and forts as tourist destinations. For the first time since Independence, members of about 150 erstwhile royal families met recently to “interact socially and consolidate” to prepare for tourism opportunities.

“We do not get many opportunities to meet, although we are all technically related to each other by familial ties,” says Kuldeep Singh Chorangala, who belongs to the former ruling family of Chorangala. “Many big brands have expressed an interest in developing these properties with the help of the local royal families. This will boost the tourism of the province and also bring employment opportunities to the local populace. How properties can promote each other was also a vital issue that was raised at the meet.”

Christened Rajdharm, and organised by blue-blooded “youngsters” including K S Harshvardhan Singh of Dasada, K S Kirtiraj Singh Solanki of Naswadi and T S Dvijendra Singh Jadav of Metral, the meeting drew attendees from 40 thikanas or feudal sub-provinces of eastern and southern Gujarat.

Social interaction apart, items on the meeting agenda included agricultural issues, local tourism, consolidation of heritage properties and networking to position heritage hotels effectively to increase tourist footfalls, starting from this year. “Such networking gives scope for more business alliances,” says Chorangala. “We all agreed that coalition would further this objective.”

There are 300 properties across Gujarat that can be heritage hotels, but so far only 26 are full-fledged hotels.

Owners of heritage properties in Gujarat have realised the importance of marketing their areas to tourists. “Rajasthan has marketed its heritage really well,” says Sidharth Sinh Wadhwan of Rajmahal palace. “Gujarat has lost out on the opportunity to promote its heritage effectively. The best part about Gujarat is that each property has a distinct architectural style very different from the other, unlike in Rajasthan, and this should be our rallying point.” Wadhwan’s heritage property is today a busy home-stay for travellers in Surendranagar.

Harendrapal Singh, secretary of the Heritage Hotels Association of Gujarat (HHAG) says, “ITC-Welcomgroup Hotels had expressed an interest in my Durbar Gate Poshina property, and the Wankaner property, but we do not intend to hand over the reins of management. More recently, the Neemrana group has expressed an interest in the Morbi property.” Fortune Park Hotels of the ITC group had entered into a management contract with Gandhinagar Hotels to turn a heritage property into a hotel; the property is now known as Fortune Inn Haveli.

“We have been trying for eight years to establish tie-ups with heritage properties across Gujarat,” says Rakesh Mathur, president of Welcomgroup Hotels. “But the talks have not worked out with the royal families as well as at the policy level. Today’s traveller is not merely looking at staying at a palace. He demands modern amenities and a destination to explore. This requires investment but somewhere the royal families have not found enough financial incentives to seal the deal.”

Can “heritage” be the only selling point for interested developers and hotel brands? “Most hotel brands would need at least 50 rooms to make a viable business proposition, and most properties in Gujarat are small ones with 10-room set-ups,” says Dilip Thakker, who owns the Balaram palace resorts in northern Gujarat. “It is too early to say that investment of big chains and entry of big firms and developers would boost tourism in these provinces.”

So while this first meet was limited to former royals of northern and western Gujarat, the families are now aiming to include those from other areas, and even families from neighbouring states. At the next meeting, scheduled in six months, the ex-royals plan to have a more specific agenda to work on. With the Gujarat government refocusing its efforts on boosting the tourism sector, this improved royal cooperativeness augurs well for the future of the many dormant heritage properties in the state.