Chennai: Heritage hotels are a class of their own and most invariably lure the premium travellers apart from drawing the regular heritage buffs.
Aiming to rev up this sector and promote the tourism activity in a big way, the tourism ministry has planned to come up with ratings of legacy vintage properties on the lines of four and five-star hotels.
The move would provide better marketing and funding support to these properties while promoting tourism in India. Already, the ministry has come out with a new set of guidelines for legacy vintage properties and motels. Legacy vintage means reassembled heritage properties.
Hotels are an important component of tourism product contributing to the overall tourism experience through a standard of facilities and services offered by them. Tourism ministry has formulated a voluntary scheme for classification of operational hotels. Hotel and Restaurant Approval and Classification Committee (HRACC) inspects and assesses the hotels based on the facilities and services offered.
The heritage category hotels come under heritage grand, heritage classic and heritage basic classification.
The ministry already rates three, four and five-star hotels based on its classification framework. According to sources as per the new norms, hotel properties will be classified, rated or graded under six categories— budget, classic, premium, luxury, deluxe luxury and primo luxury.
Heritage hotels are dime a dozen in TN with each of them radiating the regional flavour and local cuisines. A large number of the heritage hotels in Tamil Nadu are the heritage buildings and forts built during the British era. Apart from Chennai, Mamallapuram, Karaikudi, Madurai, Ooty, Thanjavur, Dindigul, Nagaipattinam, Coonoor besides Tranquebar, among other places, boast of a rich heritage.
