Rajasthan: ‘Cultural tourism key to inclusive growth’

JAIPUR: After trainings, workshops, and empowerment of

Langa Manganiyar

artists and handicraft makers at various levels, the department of tourism and UNESCO collaboration is now set to travel to places to promote the rich intangible cultural heritage of western Rajasthan.

As a first show, in collaboration with musicians from Denmark, the Langa Manganiyar singers staged their first show in

Barmer

last week. On Wednesday, they performed in Jaipur with another show lined up for Thursday in the city.

Nishant Jain

, director tourism, said, “Through the UNESCO and department of tourism collaboration, we are trying to promote intangible cultural heritage of western Rajasthan covering Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Bikaner. The aim is to promote inclusive tourism which benefits local communities and preserves their age-old rich cultural assets.”

Under the agreement signed in November 2019, UNESCO made a baseline study of 1500 artists and crafts persons to identify the skill and resource gaps. Accordingly, it held workshops, training camps and provided resources.

Amitava Bhattacharya representing UNESCO-department of tourism project for strengthening ICH based tourism, said, “We will hold shows in various cities of the country to promote cultural heritage of the western Rajasthan to attract tourists to the region. The initiative aims at connecting the artists and artisans to the outside world which will in turn create livelihood opportunities for them.”