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@article{206376,
        author = {SARITA MISHRA and Ar Anupam},
        title = {THE ROLE OF POLICY FRAMWORKS IN HERITAGE TOURISM MANAGEMENT},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {13},
        number = {2},
        pages = {1967-1970},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=206376},
        abstract = {Heritage tourism has become an important instrument for promoting cultural conservation, sustainable urban development, and economic growth. India, with its rich historical and cultural heritage, has introduced several policy initiatives, including the Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY), the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD), and the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, to strengthen heritage conservation and improve tourism infrastructure. Despite these initiatives, many heritage cities continue to face challenges such as fragmented governance, inadequate infrastructure, environmental degradation, weak inter-agency coordination, and limited community participation, affecting the long-term sustainability of heritage tourism. Although several studies have examined heritage tourism and individual government schemes, limited research has comparatively assessed the effectiveness of policy frameworks across different heritage cities. This gap highlights the need to evaluate how governance structures, institutional coordination, and policy implementation influence sustainable heritage tourism management. The present study examines the role of policy frameworks in heritage tourism management through a comparative analysis of Varanasi, Jaipur, and Ahmedabad. It evaluates the effectiveness of existing policies in terms of heritage conservation, tourism development, governance, infrastructure, stakeholder participation, and institutional coordination. The research adopts a qualitative methodology based on secondary data collected from government reports, policy documents, journal articles, and published literature.
The findings identify key implementation gaps, governance challenges, and policy limitations affecting heritage tourism management. Based on the analysis, the study proposes an integrated policy framework that strengthens institutional coordination, promotes sustainable tourism practices, enhances community participation, and supports evidence-based decision-making. The proposed framework aims to assist urban planners, policymakers, tourism authorities, and heritage management agencies in improving policy implementation and ensuring the sustainable development of heritage cities in India while balancing cultural preservation with socio-economic growth.},
        keywords = {Heritage Tourism; Policy Framework; Heritage Conservation; Sustainable Tourism; Urban Governance; Historic Cities; Community Participation; HRIDAY; PRASAD; Swadesh Darshan; India.},
        month = {July},
        }