Prateek Hira on the Panel of India Foundation’s discussion on Tourism & Art

On 17th September 2020 India Foundation’s Center for Public Diplomacy and Soft Power as apart of their ‘Brand India Arts, Crafts and Design Festival’ on Day 4 organised a Panel Discussion titled ‘Tourism and Arts, Crafts and Design’. 

The session was moderated by Sudarshan Ramabadran, Senior Research Fellow and Administrative Head, India Foundation’s Center for Public Diplomacy and Soft Power. 

This panel included Tornos’ President & CEO, Prateek Hira who spoke about immersive travel experiences and how Tornos under its cultural mapping of the state of Uttar Pradesh is taking up each district to map its craft, culture, cuisine and traditions and bring forth their tourism potential. Prateek Hira detailed how Indian art and craft can be encouraged through tourism and be made a revenue model which he said was important for its survival and in many cases revival too.

“The best thing with India is its uniqueness throughout and no duplication of culture, art, crafts and designs, which makes it a huge destination comparable to a continent. We have been working to identify and unearth all the potential and curate experiences from what exists. The experiences that we cater to are not created but only curated. This means they exist around us and only need to be identified and brought forward as a product” said Prateek.

Other eminent speakers on the panel were Charmaine Mirza (Independent Consultant), Henna Wang (Art Historian and Co-Founder, Gesso Art) and Narayanan & Preethika (Travel Bloggers, Passing Ports).