New Delhi, Mar 24 (IANS): Art, one of the key drivers of tourism across the globe, is trying to become an important stakeholder in the country's multi-million dollar tourism industry by entering the public domain.
"Tourism and visual culture share long historical ties. Public participation promotes art and vice-versa. Several renowned artists over the centuries have captured local histories through their art enhancing the appeal of a destination," said Arjun Sharma, chairperson of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).
India is waking up to the fact that the country's artistic heritage could push the trade and travel sector to chart a new course like in the European art destinations of France, Italy and Spain, where bulk of the tourism revenue comes from the museums and the art trails that dot the nations, inferred government and private sector representatives at a seminar at the Lalit Kala Akademi.
A small group of speakers - union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia, WTTC chairperson Arjun Sharma, artist Paresh Maity and journalist-turned-art consultant Kishor Singh - suggested ways to link art to the country's tourism industry drawing from experiences and observations.
The discussion, dubbed an attempt to bring art and tourism on a common platform, was organised late Tuesday by the Art Alive Gallery and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).
Scindia, who has been instrumental in creating a sustainable heritage tourism model in Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh combining the country's built-in heritage, textiles, people, IT and traditional livelihood, recalled the making of the project as an example to synthesise modernity, tourism and tradition.
"I managed to get some money from the ministry of tourism and roped in Intach to restore the century-old Raj Mahal, one of the most important heritage landmarks in the heart of Chanderi town. Subsequently, we applied our minds on how to make the building regenerative. We provided skill training to nearly 500 Chanderi weavers and relocated them to the Raj Mahal with permission from the Chanderi Nagarpalika," he said.
The weavers "design traditional pret collection (salwar-kameez), scarves and recreate old Chanderi motifs on textiles".
"The scarf weavers have bagged an order for 11,000 scarves for the Commonwealth Games from the government. We have also installed CAD-CAM machines for the weavers to upgrade design skills," Scindia said.
The project was part of the Integrated Development of Chanderi through heritage tourism and promotion of Chanderi crafts. The renovated Raj Mahal is now used as a museum, heritage resource and interpretation centre.
Former IAS officer and the brain behind the Incredible India campaign, Amitabh Kant, said in places like Germany, "municipality and local government spend money to create giant artworks in public spaces".
"It takes a lot of effort to find the right locations and identifying the right people for the job," Kant told IANS.
"In Berlin, the local government conducts a 365-day heritage walk. I now see a lot of that happening in India. We already have heritage walks in Old Delhi and in the arts village of Hauz Khas," Kant said.
The official said though "India has done a lot of construction work with bricks and mortar, it has failed to create tourism experience in the city by commissioning public art works to promote local traditions".
"Such projects have to be private-public initiatives," he said.
Drawing on his experience, artist Paresh Maity said: "Like the English landscape painters John Constable and JMW Turner, I have always tried to capture destinations through art. I recently painted a series on Kerala, Varanasi, Egypt and Italy. Earlier, I had painted landscapes from Rajasthan. My art has been inspired by my journeys."