TITLE Smart Cities: Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P.

YEAR October, 2017

AUTHOR Strategic Government Advisory (SGA), YES BANK

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Foreword

Uttar Pradesh, widely acknowledged as one of the leading agrarian and industrial states, is a microcosm of ’s rich cultural and natural diversity. As a significant tourist destination, it also witnesses domestic footfall of 21 crore tourists and attracts 31 lakh foreign tourists annually.

The Government’s focus on developing 109 Smart Cities through the Smart Cities Mission presents a unique opportunity for India to emerge as a knowledge-based economy. Developing globally competitive and vibrant Smart Cities in India will uplift the country’s economic prospects and enhance citizens’ quality of life. This huge infrastructure investment will stimulate business generation and youth employment as well as improve urban-rural synergy.

Across the world, cities have always played a catalyzing role as engines of growth and innovation. For instance, Bilbao in Spain transformed itself from a decaying industrial town into a modern socio-cultural hub through sustainable urban regeneration, based around tourism development. Similarly, upcoming smart cities in can capitalize on their immense tourism potential by integrating smart city elements such as intelligent traffic management, travel apps, smart cards, safety and security systems, amongst others, while also enhancing governance, service delivery and overall standard of living for its citizens.

Development of such smart infrastructure requires private sector participation though PPP as well as sustainable financing mechanisms for large infrastructure projects including riverfront development, conservation of architectural heritage and creation of new recreational and entertainment facilities.

I am pleased to present this YES BANK-YES Global Institute knowledge report ‘Smart Cities: Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P.’, which provides a strategic roadmap for developing a holistic tourism ecosystem to spur urban revival through job creation and inclusive economic development.

I am confident that this knowledge report will be a great value-addition for all stakeholders and promote meaningful dialogue in developing tourism focused smart cities in Uttar Pradesh.

Thank You. Sincerely,

Rana Kapoor Managing Director & CEO Chairman 6 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. CONTENTS

1. Introduction 10 1.1 Uttar Pradesh: Smart Cities 10 1.2 Tourism in Smart Cities of UP 13 1.3 Tourism in Cities 14 1.4 Urban Infrastructure: Capturing Spill-Over Effects for Urban Tourism 15

2. Tourism in Smart Cities 18 2.1 The Old City – New City Paradigm 18 2.2 Tourism Overview of Smart Cities 19 2.2.1. 19 2.2.2 19 2.2.3 20 2.2.4 20 2.2.5 20 2.2.6 21 2.2.7 21 2.2.8 Tourism Projects under Smart Cities in UP 22

3. International Case Studies 26 3.1 Bilbao, Spain 26 3.2 Singapore 27 3.3 Amsterdam 29

4. Policy Framework and Financing Mechanism for Tourism Infrastructure 32 4.1 Institutional Infrastructure 32 4.2 Financing Mechanism for Heritage Infrastructure 33 4.2.1 Private Sector Participation 33 4.2.2 TDR for redevelopment of Heritage Precincts 35 4.2.3 Financing Riverfront Development 35

5. Way Forward 38 5.1 Capacity Building 38 5.2 Institutional Infrastructure 39 5.3 Tourism Infrastructure Management Models 39 5.4 Sister Cities: International Collaboration 40 5.5 Branding 41

Conclusion 42

Smart Cites Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 7 List of Abbreviations GSDP Gross State Domestic Product B&B Bed & Breakfast CTO Chief Technology Officer GIS Geographic Information System HRIDAY Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana ICT Information and Communication Technologies ITeS Information Technology Enabled Services NGO Non-Governmental Organization NMT Non-Motorized Transport MoT Ministry of Tourism PPP Public Private Partnership RBI Reserve Bank of India TDR Transferable Development Rights UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization UCCN UNESCO Creative Cities Network

8 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. Introduction 1

Smart Cites Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 9 1 | Introduction

1.1 Uttar Pradesh: Smart Cities

Uttar Pradesh is one of the leading states of the Indian republic on a wide variety of parameters. It is the most populous state of the country and the fourth largest in terms of area. It is also one of the leading industrial states, offering robust infrastructure, extensive road network, large pool of talent, and various investments and incentives offered by the Government. Owing to its large base of skilled workers, ithas emerged as a key hub for IT and ITeS industries, including software, captive business process outsourcing (BPO) and electronics. Home to heritage precincts like the , , at Varanasi and many buddhist sites, Uttar Pradesh is also one of the most favoured destinations for international as well as domestic tourists (figure 1).

Figure 1: Tourist Arrivals

Domestic Tourist Visits by State – 2015 Others, Tamil Nadu, 16.4% 23.3% Rajasthan, 2.5%

Gujarat, 2.5% West Bengal, 4.9% Uttar Pradesh, 14.3% , 5.4%

Telengana, 6.6% Andhra Maharashtra, Pradesh, 8.5% 7.2%

Karnataka, 8.4%

10 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. Foreign Tourist Visits by State – 2015

Other, Tamil Nadu, 11.6% 20.1 Goa, 2.3% Karnataka, 2.7% Bihar, 4.0%

Kerala, 4.2% Rajasthan, 6.3% Maharashtra, 18.9% West Bengal, 6.4% Delhi, 10.2% Uttar Pradesh, 13.3% Source: Ministry of Tourism

1.2 Tourism in Smart Cities in UP

Across the world, increasing migration from rural to urban areas is creating the need for expanding and improving the urban infrastructure to cope up with this shift in rural-urban population balance. It is expected that by 2050, about 70% of the population will be living in cities, and India is no exception. The concept of a ‘Smart City’ envisages creation of urban living spaces that are highly advanced in terms of overall infrastructure, sustainable real estate, communications and market viability using Information Technology as the key enabler to achieve these objectives.

Figure 2: Smart City Tenets

COMPETITIVENESS Attract Investments, Create Employment

SUSTAINABILITY Environment, Social, Financial

QUALITY OF LIFE Governance, Education, Healthcare, Public Amenities

Source: YES BANK Analysis

Smart Cites Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 11 The Government of India in partnership with the State Governments is aggressively pursuing the agenda of developing a network of 109 Smart Cities around the country that can cope with the challenges of urban living and also be magnets for attracting investment, representing an environment where innovation and technology supplement activities and services of a city in order to provide benefits to the residents and visitors.

Since its launch on June 25, 2015, 90 cities have been shortlisted under the Smart City Mission of the Government of India, out of which 7 cities from Uttar Pradesh have been selected.

Smart City Mission List Total No. of Cities Shortlisted Cities from UP Round 1 20 None Fast Track Cities 13 Lucknow Round 2 27 Agra, Kanpur, Varanasi Round 3 30 Jhansi, Allahabad, Aligarh

Uttar Pradesh, with its multifarious landscapes, architecture, culture and traditions is a microcosm representing the diversity of India. No other state in India can boast of such an array of tourism products which include architecture, fairs and festivals, pilgrimage, nature, textiles and cuisine among many others. The figures substantiate this claim, with state occupying second and thirds position respectively in domestic and foreign tourist arrivals.

All the cities of Uttar Pradesh included in the Smart Cities Mission are not only important tourist destinations, but also a repository of ancient and medieval Indian heritage. Thus, it is palpable that as these cities embark upon the journey to completely overhaul their physical infrastructure and redefine governance and institutional systems, developing a holistic tourism ecosystem will be indispensable to not only create new business opportunities, but also conserve their heritage and foster greater cross-cultural synergies.

Lucknow

Lucknow Smart City aspires to leverage its culture and heritage by investing in inclusive and transformative solutions that enhance the quality of life for its citizens. With a proposed investment of about INR 1475.44 Cr in its Area-Based Development, it aims to develop Qaiserbagh as an inter-phase between the old and new parts of the city and also create a layer based activity structure. Another investment of INR 577.89 Cr has been proposed for pan city Mobility and ICT e-governance.

Agra

One of the highest visited cities of India for tourism, Uttar Pradesh envisions improvement of environment, restoration of heritage, strengthening of basic infrastructure, introduction of enhanced tourist safety measures and fostering sustainable heritage tourism and an inclusive growth environment. The city has identified 9 goals and 42 sub goals to transform Agra’s socio-economic landscape by practicing mixed land– use development, building robust infrastructure and developing transit friendly and safe transportation.

Kanpur

Kanpur wants to transform itself into an inclusive city with vibrant opportunities, efficient urban services, sustainable growth and healthy living. With rejuvenation of the Holy Ganga River as one of the focal points, the city intends to build upon its strong industrial base and position itself a regional growth centre, improve connectivity and ensure good air and water quality. Further, it wants to achieve greater financial sustainability by operationalizing GIS based property tax management etc.

12 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. Varanasi

As one of the oldest cities of the world with a rich tapestry of culture and spirituality running throughout its history, the city has prioritized conservation and upgradation of Ganga , temples and monuments. The city plans to further facilitate and encourage Banaras Ghanrana and other classical music forms. Some of the initiatives it would take for its citizens would be to provide basic services while ensuring their delivery and maintenance, restore wells and ponds, bring back to life open spaces and ensure disaster preparedness.

Jhansi

Jhansi wants to give its citizens universal access to smart infrastructure services and foster inclusive growth through the following goals: • Revived Identity and Rejuvenated Urban Fabric • Well Connected, Accessible, ‘Walkable’ City • Inclusive City That Offers High Quality of Life to all • City of Diverse Opportunities and Resilient Economy • Smart Governance

Allahabad

Another historically and spiritually important city (the confluence of Ganga and Rivers), the city intends to build upon its status as a key pilgrimage while transforming it into a progressive and economically vibrant urban center. Identified goals include: • Enhance Socio-Cultural Identity • Revamping the Economic Base • Improving Environmental Sustainability • Connected City • Inclusion, Accessibility & Safety

Aligarh

With a vision to make Aligarh a ‘Mukammal Ashiyan Alishan Ali-E-Gar’, the city aspires to provide its citizens smooth access to basic infrastructure such as clean and green environment, a peaceful atmosphere, better management of liquid and solid waste, better managed traffic, road spaces with improved public realm for social interactions and ICT initiatives for improvement in government service delivery.

It can already be observed from Figure 3 that a majority of the selected cities experience extreme skew with tourist population exceeding local population many times, and any perspective infrastructure development plans have to take cognizance of this skew.

Smart Cites Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 13 Figure 3: Tourist Footfall and Urban Population for Key Cities in UP

450 401 400 350 300 250 200 150 108 100 57.16 43.92 29.4 27.65 50 15.85 28.17 11.98 11.12 5.05 4.53 0 Agra Varansai Lucknow Allahabad Jhansi Kanpur

Total Tourist Footfall (2015) (Lakh) Urban Population (Census 2011)(Lakh) Source: Dept. of Tourism, Govt. of UP, Census of India (2011), YES BANK Analysis 1.3 Tourism in Cities

Popular cities of the world are large multifunctional entities into which tourists can be effortlessly absorbed and thus become economically and physically invisible to a large extent.

The demand for travel to cities has greatly increased over the last few decades. While many travel for business or convention purposes, others traveling during leisure time to learn about other cultures, to develop their specific interests and to seek entertainment. We look at some of the specific elements, attractions and activities that attract tourist to urban areas. Figure 4: Urban Tourism Elements

Urban Tourism Landscape

Primary Secondary Additional Elements Elements Elements

Activity Leisure Accommodation, Accessibility, Transportati o u r i s m Place Setting Catering, Shopping T on & Parking, Cultural Sports Amusement Heritage, Physical Socio-cultural Health and Tourist MICE (Museums & Facilities Facilities Religious Characteristics features Wellness Information Art (Indoor, (Fairs & Centers (Historical (Language, Galleries, Outdooor) Festivals, streets and Customs & Theaters, Clubs & buildings, Costumes, Convention Casinos) monuments, Cultural Centres parks, Heritage, waterfronts) Friendliness)

ICT Smart City Component

Recreational & Livability Riverfront Utilities and Business Health Mobility Development Civic Infra development Source: YES BANK Analysis Energy SWM and Sanitation Urban tourism can create benefits for both urban communities and overall society. It encourages development of some new cultural and commercial facilities that can be used both by the residents and tourists, and facilitates the collection of necessary funds to preserve the natural, archeological and historical monuments, art and cultural traditions. It also contributes to the improvement of environment quality.

14 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 1.4 Urban Infrastructure: Capturing Spill-Over Effects for Urban Tourism

Availability of infrastructure to absorb tourist impact and offer recreation opportunities to a large extent defines the popularity of a destination. The multiplier effect of the tourism sector is unmatched - for every 10 lakhs invested in tourism, 78 jobs are created in the tourism sector while the same generates just 18 jobs in manufacturing and 45 in agriculture. Pro-poor tourism initiatives can create livelihood opportunities to achieve the social and community objectives of the region.

Tourism is increasingly becoming incorporated into broader urban approaches to economic development. In the last few years, we can observe the intensification of activities in two areas associated with urban and city tourism. Specifically, it is the development of a growing infrastructure and associated cultural amenities in downtown and/or specialized districts, and the expanded image building and urban branding campaigns. This trend is not only evident in larger cities, but also in smaller towns.

The drive to develop smart cities is expected to alleviate the infrastructural bottlenecks for the selected cities, especially when it comes to dealing with congestion, coping up with increasing migration while at the same time maintaining economic growth through livelihood creation and revenue generation, as well as ensuring the architectural, aesthetic, historical, religious and socio-cultural integrity of the destination. Figure 5: Smart Tourism Model

Transportation

Heritage Site Restaurant

Traveller Traveller

Shopping Accommodation

Entertainment open API Integration Citizen Economy & Community & Culture & Ent Movement & Urban Places Innovation Citizenship ertainment Transport & Spaces

Connectivity

Policy Structure, Procedure, Process Govemance

Platform Owner (Apps, cloud, open AOI) Platform Service

Platform Owner (Apps, cloud, open AOI) Urban Data

IT Infrastructure (network, sensor, chip, IoT) Ubiquitous City Network

Source: Koo C., Park J., Lee J., 2017

Bringing Smartness into Tourism destinations requires two major focus areas – first, upgrading existing infrastructure as well as creation of new ‘smart’ infrastructure that offers high service quality in a resource conscious and environmental friendly manner, and second, dynamically interconnecting stakeholders through a technological platform on which information relating to tourism activities could be exchange instantly. There are three forms of ICT which are vital for setting up Smart Tourism destinations, namely Cloud Computing, Internet of Things (IoT) and End-User Internet Service System.

Smart Cites Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 15 16 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. Tourism in Smart Cities 2

Smart Cites Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 17 2 | Tourism in Smart Cities

2.1 The Old City – New City Paradigm Geographically, Uttar Pradesh covers a large part of the highly fertile and densely Figure 6: Old City - New City Paradigm populated upper Gangetic plain, and it comes as no surprise that it has served as the New City cradle to many ancient and old civilizations - Focus on Economic Growth that mushroomed around the flood plains of - Creation of Infrastrcuture the Ganga and its many tributaries. and jobs

While these cities and villages over centuries developed their unique socio-cultural fabric, the advent of industrialization led to the creation of an entirely new brand of Old City urbanization. As a result, while the old cities - Preserve culture, customs, maintained their age old customs, traditions arts and crafts and business models, new economic centres, - Conserve heritage Infra residential areas and industries grew on a different tangent within the confines of the same city. This ‘Old City – New City’ paradigm is a unique aspect of almost all major cities of Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) (and some other Indian states). While this facet is often projected as a ‘divide’ or a ‘gap’, it presents an inimitable opportunity to balance economic growth with preservation of cultural heritage. While the ‘New City’ can act as the business hub, the ‘Old City’ can be the custodian of heritage and culture. This is where tourism can play an important role in reviving the culture, customs arts and crafts and also conserving heritage infrastructure. It is essential to leverage and promote the ‘unique character’ of each city to foster . Cities are the origin for most tourist and destinations as well. The Smart City mission can help transform the dynamics of these urban centers into ‘experiential tourist’ destinations by incorporating modern technology while building on the essence of the city.

The mission provides an opportunity for cities to look beyond primary attraction points to develop tourist facilities – provide information at transit hubs, clean rivers, improve transport to connect points of interest, create eco-friendly zones, develop medical tourism including Ayurveda and encourage environmental

18 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. conservation. It is important to plan the right mix of uses and strategically place retail zones for business and other services to thrive. Smart cities in India can play an indispensible role in promoting meetings, incentive, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) tourism. This in turn requires extensive planning by skilled and knowledgeable workforce, calling for skill development programs in this domain.

2.2 Overview of Tourism in Smart Cities of U.P. 2.2.1. Lucknow

The modern day capital of U.P. and fondly referred to as the ‘City of Nawabs’, Lucknow was the seat of the Nawabs of Avadh, who were great connoisseurs of art, during the 18th and 19th centuries, which resonates even today in its rich heritage, architecture, cuisine, and arts and crafts.

Festivals like Moharrum, Id-Ul-Zuha, Id-Ul-Fitar, Shab-eBarat, , Dusshera, Diwali, Jamghat, Bada Mangal Mela & Lucknow Mahotsav are celebrated with great vigour by the people of Lucknow. Asafi Imambara (Bara Imambara), Chhota Imambara, British Residency and Shah Najaf are some of the prominent monuments of Lucknow that points out its architectural marvel. , Sikandar Bagh, Lucknow Zoo & State Museum, Botanical Gardens and Kaiserbagh Palace complex are some of the popular attractions of Lucknow.

Focus on the following areas will help in tapping the immense potential of Lucknow and truly making it U.P.’s tourism hub. 99 Promote intangible heritage and SMEs producing handicrafts etc., for instance, Mukaishwork, Chikan work in Lucknow (GI for Chikankari 2008). Chikankari is a 400 year old art which employs appox. 1.5 lakh artisan, 90% of which are women. 99 Create Heritage Zones in areas like Hazratganj, Qaiserbagh, Husainabad, La Martiniere 99 Establish ‘Lucknow Haat’- Art & Craft Bazaar with Awadhi food court and amphitheatres 99 Establish additional five, four and three star hotels to boost capacity 99 Create world class multi-sports stadium and convention centre 99 Develop Gomti Riverfront 99 Encourage Bread & Breakfast (B&B) stay arrangements and heritage tourism in havelis and kothis 99 Simulate Sham-e- experience offering cultural extravaganza from Awadh 99 Develop small tourist circuits around Lucknow including places like Dewa Sharif and Kakori

2.2.2 Agra

One of the most popular tourist destinations of India owing to the epochal Taj Mahal, Agra currently faces challenges in managing large tourist inflows with old infrastructure that is under strain from the huge demand. Its economy is largely based on tourism and small industries, mostly focusing on leather and crafts including stone carving, toy making, Zari and shade making.

With a rich repository of Mughal heritage, it is dotted with a number of monuments apart from Taj Mahal including , and Sikandara. However, in order to fully capitalize on its immense potential, the current infrastructure needs an overhaul which the Smart City project is expected to provide. Focus on the following core areas would help augment Agra’s destination image and also improve the quality of life of its citizens. 99 Overhaul of water supply and waste management systems 99 Developing public Amenities - toilets, dustbins, benches, street lights 99 Traffic management including restrictions and creation of pedestrian zones around monuments 99 Develop nature walk around Taj Mahal including weir and walk way, pedestrian bridge

Smart Cites Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 19 99 Proper signage around monuments, creation of museums and interpretation centers 99 Landscaping around major monuments 99 Developing more three and four star category hotels, Bed and Breakfast models 99 Foster entrepreneurship and SMEs producing handicrafts, for instance, the carpets SME in Agra

2.2.3 Kanpur

While Kanpur is not perceived as a tourist destination, it remains an important hub for business travelers. Lying on the banks of the Holy , Kanpur can leverage this facet to develop religious tourism as well as riverfront tourism models. A lot of Awadh and Mughal heritage as well as Ghats are located in its precincts that can be developed into world class tourist destinations appealing to a wide range of travelers. Specific areas of development include: 99 Development of riverfronts and ghats, including civic amenities 99 Develop Heritage Circuit and Religious Circuit 99 Flea market on the lines of Delhi Haat to capitalize on Kanpur’s large base of small industries 99 Recreation centers including amusement parks boating facilities 99 Improving pedestrian mobility

2.2.4 Varanasi

One of the holiest Hindu cities situated on the banks of the river Ganga, Varanasi is often referred to as “city of temples and learning.” It is the oldest living city and is heterogeneous with multiple layers of religion, culture, art forms, believes nature, profiles and individualities. It is a sacred and holy place to Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Muslim religion. It is also the home to numerous religious monuments (4000 temples, 300 mosques) and is famous as a centre of music, arts, crafts, education and learning.

The culture of Varanasi is intertwined with the river Ganga and its religious significance. Varanasi is known mainly for its ghats and is an important bathing place for pilgrims. The city has been a cultural and religious centre in northern India for thousands of years. Varanasi has its own style of classical Hindustani music, and has produced prominent philosophers, poets, writers and musicians in Indian history.

Varanasi is the second most visited tourist spot in Uttar Pradesh, and while it remains an attractive destination for both foreign and domestic tourists, the ageing infrastructure of the city, which does not have the carrying capacity to commensurate with the high demand, has been put under duress. Prospective city development plans include not only upgradation and overhaul of the core infrastructure, but also envisage projects specific to tourism infrastructure, including: 99 Improvement of pathways and approach routes to major tourist sites 99 Drinking water facilities 99 Construction of jetties 99 Improvement in sewerage and waste management around ghats 99 Public amenities and changing rooms 99 Promote intangible heritage by organizing festivals, branding and capacity building programs endorsing local craft, for instance promote Benarsi sari which employ over 500,000 weavers

2.2.5 Jhansi

Jhansi is an important transit point on one of India’s major Tourist circuit Delhi-Agra-Khajuraho-Varanasi. The heart of region, it finds in place in the history books as one of the pivotal places of the 1857 revolt, synonymous with the lore of the legendary Rani Laxmibai. It is also the gateway to Central India, with

20 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. many prominent tourist destinations in its vicinity. However, realizing the potential of Jhansi to act as a hub for these destinations would require improvement in basic infrastructure, transportation and connectivity as well as creating a tourist friendly ecosystem including: 99 Solid Waste Management 99 Water Supply 99 Car parking, Traffic Management and Signage 99 Pedestrian Walkways 99 Public Amenities 99 Safety and Security

2.2.6 Allahabad

Like Varanasi, Allahabad is one of the most important pilgrimages for , located at the confluence of two major rivers, viz. Ganga and Yamuna, and one of the most visited tourist destinations of UP. Though primarily recognized as a religious centre, Allahabad has a multi-layered history that includes the colonial heritage as well as cultural significance with fairs like the which sees some of the highest tourist inflows for a religious fair anywhere in the world.

However, due to this large tourist influx that is seasonally disproportionate, the city infrastructure is in a high stress mode during the peak season especially in times of mega events like the Kumbh Mela. While the urban development plans envisage clearing infrastructure gaps including solid waste management, creation of public amenities, improvement in transport infrastructure among others, following areas focus upon improving the tourist friendliness of the city. 99 Floating jetties on ghats 99 Changing rooms at ghats 99 Resting sheds for tourists 99 Aesthetic lighting of monuments 99 Developing boating and water sports 99 Strengthen market linkages for local craft industry for instance, Zardozi work

2.2.7 Aligarh

Another historic city with deep linkages to India’s freedom movement, Aligarh is known for its historic Aligarh Movement in the year 1875, which helped in starting the Mohammedan Anglo Oriental College, now famous as Aligarh Muslim University. Due to this, Aligarh is known as “Mecca of Education”. It is also renowned for its lock and meat industries.

The Smart City shortlist is expected to provide a major fillip to the plans for improvement and creation of infrastructure. A core area of 5 sq kms, comprising old and new city areas, has been demarcated for the ‘area based development’ which will focus on giving people uninterrupted electricity supply, metered water supply, proper drainage facilities, ensure recycling of waste water and solid waste management. Other key elements of the plan that also integrate tourism specific development include: 99 Pedestrian friendly footpaths and signage 99 Traffic management 99 Innovative use of open spaces 99 Rain water harvesting, ground water recharge 99 Safety and security

Smart Cites Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 21 2.2.8 Tourism Projects under Smart Cities in Uttar Pradesh

City Core Tourism Components Component Total Smart City Cost (INR Cr) Project Cost (INR Cr) ABD – Qaiserbagh (813 acres) (inter phase 1475.44 Total Cost - between the old city and the relatively newer 2053.33 part of the city) Pan City – 577.89

Key Sub Component of ABD ABD- 1475.44

Heritage, Culture and Recreation including 143.13 Lucknow Restoration, illumination and adaptive reuse of heritage building

Central Recreation Space (Awadh Point) 12

Awadh Walkway 5

Gomti Riverfront 113

Branding 10.60

ABD – Retrofitting of Taj Improvement 1699 Total Cost - District 2133.00

Key Sub Component of ABD Pan City – 434 ABD- 1699 Improvement of vicinity of lesser known 28.68 heritage monuments Enhancing experience of accessing Taj 197.27 Mahal Agra Development of Mughal Museum 141.90

Development of Taj Orientation centre 231.80

Sustainable Livelihood Development 12

Tourist Facilities 282.06

Revitalisation of Green Spaces 6.35

Ganga Riverfront Development 125.42

Cuisine and Handicraft Festivals 2 Total Cost – 2311.97 Kanpur Awareness Campaigns 5 Pan City – 742.76 Promotion and Advertising 3 ABD- 1569.21 Online, Radio and Media Campaigns 2

22 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. City Core Tourism Components Component Total Smart City Cost (INR Cr) Project Cost (INR Cr) ABD - Retrofit Old City Area (1389 acres) 2268.88 Total Cost – along river Ganga 2520.73

Key Component of ABD Pan City – 618.09 Rejuvenation of Ganga Ghat ABD- 1650.79 Development of Cultural Heritage and Banaras Gharana Heritage Street Light in ABD area by EESL- 26.8 8000 Development of pedestrian walkways in 4 the heritage precinct of old city of Varanasi from Maidagin to Godowlia Chowk to Varanasi Dashashwamedh Ghat, façade improvement - 2 KM Heritage lighting and development of Kabir 1 Chouraha Façade Improvements and Restoration of 1 Important Landmarks at Ghats Road development from Durga Kund to Assi 0.75 Ghat Paving in Durga Kund and Sankatmochan 0.5 Signage in Durga Kund and Sankatmochan 0.09 Use buildings to paint history of Kashi 3 Sports Tourist bus circuit, Restoration of heritage 155 Total Cost – 1728 precincts, Independence War Memorial, Pan City – 421 Modern accommodation for tourists, Training of guide, porter, auto-rickshaw ABD- 1307 drivers, Tourist information center, Virtual Jhansi tourist guide and safety monitoring system, etc. Open spaces and Recreation: e-Toilets 24 at 5 parks, Development of new park, Redevelopment of existing parks, Urban Haat, open theatre, parking, etc.

Smart Cites Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 23 City Core Tourism Components Component Total Smart City Cost (INR Cr) Project Cost (INR Cr) Heritage and conservation projects for 52.32 Total Cost – adaptive re-use 2239.28

Bicycle hire scheme 0.95 Pan City – 568.64 Allahabad “BRAND ALLAHABAD” (ICT platforms + 11.25 ABD - 1670.84 Digital Marketing + livelihoods) Development of Sthal 68.57 Heritage walk area and ferry service 1.30 Innovative Use of Open Spaces, Water 207.80 Bodies Aligarh* Pedestrian Friendly Footpaths, Junctions, 103.98 2566.86 NMT’s Non Motorized Vehicular Zones 11.34

* Not classified under Tourism but relevant to the sector

24 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. International Case Studies 3

Smart Cites Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 25 3 | International Case Studies

3.1 Bilbao, Spain

Inheriting the traditional Industrial Age legacy of depleting infrastructure, polluted water bodies, susceptibility to natural calamities and a deteriorating social fabric, Bilbao has been one of the most dramatic turnaround stories from being a dying city to a new age Smart City. The fifth most populated and the second most industrialized region in Spain, the transformation of the city has been a sustained process starting from a strategic plan to convert crisis into opportunity and backing it up with regular investment flow coupled with community participation and placing urban regeneration before economic regeneration.

Figure 7: Timeline of Bilbao’s Transformation

2013 The ‘Bilbao Next’ 1997 project was The Guggenheim launched, laying out Museum Bilbao a smart economic & opened. In its first productive strategy 1992 three years it for the city The Bilbao generated EUR 500 Metropoli-30 mn in economic association drafted activity its revitalisation plan 1980s for metropolitan Bilbao Bilbao’s shipbuilding & steel industries collapse, leading to massive unemployment and polluted environment

Source: The Guardian/ YES BANK Analysis

26 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. The transformation of Bilbao is based on four pillars:

1. Mobility: The focus on a Compact Urban Form has proved to be a cost effective investment that has reduced demand for mobility and costly infrastructure, improved quality of urban life and opportunities, and reduced social and environmental impacts. “Smart” communications in terms of fiber optic and broadband technologies have been one of the key enablers to achieve these objectives.

2. Environment: With focus on urban Figure 8: Bilbao Tourism Map regeneration, one of the first initiatives was cleaning up polluted rivers and improving the conditions of parks and walkways.

3. Opening up to a Knowledge Economy: As Bilbao’s former Mayor Ibon Areso correctly puts it, “the wealthiest cities today are not those with the greatest natural resources but those which have the best educated people”.

4. Cultural Expansion: With Guggenheim now synonymous with the regeneration of Bilbao, the city gave rise to the Source: Donna Moderna/ Elisa Macellari concept of designing a landmark monument or museum by a ‘starchitect’ to create a platform for artistic discourses that would eventually transform establish the city as a cultural centre. This is now also known as the ‘Bilbao Effect’.

From being an industrial city, Bilbao has managed to transform itself into a hub providing hi-tech “advanced services” to the region’s industry, which already constitutes 35% of the city’s economic output, at the same time beautifying its façade to become a leading tourism and cultural centre.

3.2 Singapore

Carving a unique niche for itself, Singapore stands strategically at the cusp of two levels of governance each with distinctive capabilities in the volatile, increasingly global world. It is a nation-state one of 193 members of the United Nations. This standing gives it the legitimacy, autonomy, and resources to act authoritatively and flexibly on the global scene. Singapore is also, however, a single, cohesive urban communitya diminutive unit, from a global perspective, of less than 6 million people inhabiting an area less than one- third of Lucknow.

Singapore has been able to balance this dual character by becoming a ‘Smart City’ that serves as a laboratory of new ideas and solutions for a global economy that is increasingly moving towards urbanization and facing challenges in their multifaceted energy, environmental, sanitary, and transport-related dimensions. Be it economic achievement, international competitiveness, market orientation, regulatory transparency, avoidance of corruption, Singapore is generally one of the top performers in all of these criteria. The top country in the world in terms of Ease of Doing Business for the past 10 years, a mix of proactive policy mechanism coupled with widespread as well as ‘intelligent’ use of ICT makes Singapore one of the most affluent nation states with a high social index.

One of the few tourism boards to actually have a Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is constantly striving to transform the way people consume travel and lifestyle experiences, leveraging the power of smart technologies to:

Smart Cites Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 27 99 Deepen insights on visitors’ needs Figure 9: New-age systems for Singapore through data analytics Smart City 99 Deliver quality tourist experiences 99 Connect businesses for more efficient and effective sharing and exchange of content

Some of the major initiatives include:

• Tourism information and services hub

o A back-end digital content and distribution platform where industry stakeholders can contribute and easily extract relevant information (such as events, promotions and opening hours) and services (such as enhanced navigation, itinerary planners) for their own respective platforms (websites, apps etc).

Source: Surbana Jurong, Singapore

o This open platform offers increased exposure to businesses and their offerings, and makes sharing and updating of content much more efficient and effective.

• Tourism data hub

o A data analytics platform that aggregates tourism-related data for analysis to generate insights into and boost our understanding of consumers.

o Data aggregated and analyzed including tourism receipts and visitor arrivals tracked by STB, social media sentiments, web analytics and more.

o This platform will also enable STB and our tourism partners to reach our consumers in timely, impactful and relevant ways, strengthen industry capabilities in data analytics and bring greater value to Singapore’s tourism sector.

o Enhancing visitor touch points through the development and deployment of mobile applications and smart kiosks at key visitor areas. Some key service functionalities that STB is currently exploring include enhanced navigation, real-time visitor information and itinerary planning. These will create seamless and personalized experiences for visitors in Singapore while they are on the move.

28 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. Figure 10: Smart Initiatives by Singapore to Boost Tourism

Source: Singapore Tourism Board 3.3 Amsterdam

One of the leading Smart Cities of the world, Amsterdam also ranks as one of the most tourist-friendly cities as well. On the back of a long-term vision assisted by innovative Public Private Partnership (PPP) models, it not only offers smart citizen governance, but also one of the best startup ecosystems.

Amsterdam has built an online platform where citizens, Government and business can build and test projects aimed at guiding the city’s sustainable growth. The platform, called Amsterdam Smart City, allows everyone to share an idea for a public project and seek out partners or investment. Amsterdam Smart City has accelerated more than 90 projects with around 130 partners. The partnerships focus on solving problems around sustainability, accelerated city growth and inclusive economies, among others, from simply sending text messages to welfare recipients to say their cheques are on the way, a move that reduces call volume to the city’s help lines, to more complex ideas, including an experiment to have residents separate biomass from recycling streams to feed the city’s waste-to-energy power plant.

Figure 11: Amsterdam Smart City Model connect accelerate strengthen

ing / learnin c do g ea om Ar pa an ni p lit es po + a o k r tr n t e o n w M e le m d r a g s d r e

e i t n Amsterdam s s t smart solutions m i t A u Smart City

ideas & t e i o h market development t n Platform

f challenges s o Amsterdam Metropolitan business models Area replication

Source: Amsterdam Smart City The high number of projects initiated through this bottoms-up approach spread the potential benefits to many constituents, and also provide a hedge against the certainty that many projects are unlikely to yield high enough returns to pursue them long term.

Like Bilbao, innovative mobility and compact urban form coupled with advanced ICT and IoT services offer enhanced tourist experience while delivering high-end insights to service providers at the backend. With a relatively lesser amount of cultural heritage and history on offer, Amsterdam has compensated by building upon its ‘present’ or ‘living’ heritage. The ‘Smart City Tour’ conducted by Amsterdam Smart City sensitizes tourists about the city’s smart urban design, innovative water management, renewable energy projects, and unique community initiatives.

Smart Cites Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 29 Figure 12: Integrated Tourism Model Amsterdam

It discusses the roles of Government and civil society in making cities sustainable. All tours discuss the six areas defining a sustainable city: people, governance, environment, economy, mobility, and living, inthe context of different themes. The tour showcases innovations and approaches that make Amsterdam a leading sustainable and smart city. The focus is not only on technological solutions but also spatial and social innovations.

30 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. Policy Framework and Financing Mechanism for 4 Tourism Infrastructure Smart Cites Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 31 4 | Policy Framework and Financing Mechanism for Tourism Infrastructure 4.1 Institutional Infrastructure

‘Tourism development’ has emerged as an important smart city component for several cities in India and Uttar Pradesh. Development of tourist amenities and infrastructure, planning, conservation and promotion of tourist sites, organization of festivals etc. Serve the dual purpose of attaracting tourist and improving citizen services

MoT provides an overall framework for the development of tourism while the Archaeological Survey of India and the Directorate of Archaeology, U.P. focus on conservation of archaeological sites and facilitate funding through UNESCO etc. Various initiatives such as Smart Cities Mission and HRIDAY under The Ministry of Urban Development MoUD focus on identifying and utilizing heritage resources, for urban development. Urban Local Bodies (ULB)s / development authorities work towards integration of heritage in urban planning and provision of necessary infrastructure to support tourism and livelihood creation. The 74th constitutional amendment for the empowerment of ULBs encourages ULBs to be pro-active in the space of heritage conservation. Some ULBs in India such as Ahmedabad (cell constituted in 1996) have constituted Heritage Cells which have been instrumental in successfully designing and implementing conservation programs for heritage city centre.

The Ahmedabad Heritage Cell drafted the Wall City Revitalization Plan which documented 12,502 heritage properties in the walled city. An important initiative of the cell in collaboration with HUDCO was a project called “Enabling Communities to Invest in Heritage”, which is a PPP to enable heritage conservation of the wall city. Under the project HUDCO along with support from the French Government provided loans to house owners at subsidized rates for restoration work, which is not permitted as per the RBI guidelines, which do not recommend loans to be issued for houses that are more than 15 years old. A heritage cell was also planned to provide technical assistance and guidance to heritage property owners. Also, a new clause was introduced in the general development control regulation prohibiting heritage property being pulled down without prior permission from the Heritage Cell.

Similarly Hyderabad Urban Development Authority constituted Heritage Regulations in 1995. Subsequently a Heritage conservation committee was constituted. The regulation provides incentives for conservation of heritage buildings including grant of Transferable Development Rights (TDR) in case of loss of development rights. The Hyderabad Master plan also lays down guidelines for listed heritage buildings and precincts which is on the lines on model heritage regulations. Other cities like Mumbai, Jaipur, Puducherry etc. have taken notable steps towards conservation of heritage city centers. Figure 13 provides an overview of stakeholders involved in promoting tourism and conservation of heritage sites in Uttar Pradesh.

32 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. Figure 13: Urban Tourism in Uttar Pradesh: Stakeholder Map Tourism in Smart Cities, Uttar Pradesh: Stakeholder Mapping

ASI State Government ULB MoUD MoT Development Authority Heritage Conservation Grading and listing of Directorate of Tourism Infrastructure Committee heritage buildings Archaeology , U.P. Development HRIDAY • Marketing • Approval of Heritage Hotels Central Government Monuments of Varanasi • Along with Ministry of Home protects monuments importance to States Affairs and Ministry of more than 100 years old (143 monuments) Smart City Mission External Affairs E-visa etc. declared to be of (Annexure 2) • Assistance For Large Revenue national importance. Generating Projects PRASAD AGRA CIRCLE 264 Varanasi PATNA CIRCLE 112 Development Authority Bye-laws ,for TCPO LUCKNOW CIRCLE 366 conservation of heritage sites Model Heritage Regulations (Annexure 1) Taj Mahal Regulations issued by TCPO, U.P. under Uttar Various Schemes for U.P. Tourism Agra Fort Pradesh Urban Planning and Development conservation of culture including Department Fatehpur Sikri Act to be incorporated in Master Plan / museum grants and youth Development Plan / Zonal Plan/ Draft District programs U.P. Tourism Policy, 2016 Development Plan, Metropolitan Plan and World Heritage Fund Regional Plan, Development Control Regulations World Heritage Ministry of Committee Monuments divided into: Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3 and Heritage Culture Precincts UNESCO

Source: YES BANK Analysis, ASI, Directorate of Archaeology , U.P., http://uptownplanning.gov.in

To be successful tourist centers, Smart Cities in U.P. need to amalgamate heritage value with complex infrastructure to address the needs of the modern day traveler and ensure sustainable development. Smart city projects and tourism plans need to seamlessly bind primary elements which are points of interest like historic districts, waterfront, museums and festivals with secondary elements like hotels, transport facilities, infrastructure and connectivity etc. and tertiary elements like signage and tours. Various dimensions of urban tourism like ‘cultural’, ‘historic’, ‘gastronomic’, ‘night-life’, and ‘shopping’ could all lead to development of clusters across the city. Special apps for tourist indicating places of interest, transit routes and eateries can encourage visitors. The plan can thus, lead to development across various sectors.

4.2 Financing Mechanism for Heritage Infrastructure

Tourism besides contributing significantly to economic development can be a significant driver for urban regeneration, cultural preservation and environmental conservation.

4.2.1 Private Sector Participation

PPP can be instrumental in enhancing competitiveness and bringing together key stakeholders, skills and resources to unlock the value of public assets to generate income and provide sustainable returns. PPP can target improvement in many aspects of tourism: 99 Transport Infrastructure 99 Destination Management/ Event Management 99 ICT Platform 99 MICE 99 Health and Wellnes 99 Accommodation 99 Event Management

Smart Cites Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 33 99 Heritage Sites: Heritage PPPs involve finding a creative new use for an existing heritage structure, known as adaptive reuse which can include museums, hotels, and community centers or for commercial use. 99 Resource Conservation and Protection 99 Urban Revitalization

Box 1: Urban Regeneration: New Castle upon Tyne, UK

Grainger Town is Newcastle’s historic core where 40% of the 640 buildings in the historic core are listed. The area began declining due to vacancy and shifting of business to new commercial centers. In 1996 the international planning, design and environmental firm EDWA was commissioned to create the Grainger Town regeneration strategy.

In 1997 the Grainger Town Partnership was established as special purpose vehicle (SPV) to oversee the project. Revitalization efforts shifted from focusing on conservation of individual buildings to focusing on broader economic development.

Public Private – Newcastle upon Tyne City Council – Grainger Town Partnership (SPV)

– English Partnerships/One North East (RDA) twenty members, including NCC representatives, public agencies, private sector, – English Heritage and local residents.

Roles and Responsibility Planning authority; Provided subsidiary funding Project governance and guidance; Contracted to private owners; owner of various heritage with individual developers (planning authority buildings and approvals still went through NCC)

Funding Single Regeneration Budget (SRB), £11.006 million; By March 2003 private sector investment had English Partnerships (subsequently One North reached over £160 million from individual East), £25 million; English Heritage, £0.7 million; developers. City Council, £2.3 million; Heritage Lottery Fund, and others.

Mixed-use development of Newcastle’s historic core through conservation led regeneration. Key tool was the Living over the Shops (LOTS) project, which encouraged the creation of apartments above commercial space. Former Bins store was reused as a retail center and “The Gate” cinema/leisure development. Grey Street and Grainger Street have been restored as central retail streets. 121 buildings brought back into use and rental and office values increased significantly.

Source: Getty Conservation Institute

4.2.2 TDR for redevelopment of Heritage Precincts

Transferable Development Rights (TDR) allows a developer to build over and above the permissible Floor Space index (FSI) under the prevalent rules. TDR certificates can be traded in market for cash.

34 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. The Model Heritage Regulations provide guidelines for the grant of TDR to owner of heritage buildings/ heritage precincts. Heritage TDR can be issued to owners who suffer loss of development rights due to any restriction imposed by the Government. Such incentives can encourage heritage building owners to undertake restoration work.

4.2.3 Financing Riverfront Development

Rivers are the lifeline of any city, not only providing water as a basic amenity but also playing an important role in shaping the socio-cultural fabric and providing an avenue for citizen welfare and recreation. However, most rivers in Indian cities have been alienated from the city and are heavily polluted due to discharge from untreated effluents. Riverfront development holds immense potential to boost tourism and reinvigorate the socio-cultural fabric for Indian cities. Value Capture mechanisms can be used to effectively augment resources for tourism infrastructure development as elucidated in the example below.

Box 2: The Sabarmati River Front Development Project, Ahmedabad

The Sabarmati River Front Development Project is an urban regeneration program that envisages the water’s edge as a public asset. The project is aimed at environmental improvement, social upliftment and urban rejuvenation. The riverfront now attracts visitors from across the world at the International Kite Festival, held every year in January.

Key features of the project: 99 The project covers a stretch of 11.3km on the eastern and 11.2km on the western side of the river creating a promenade of 22.5kms. 99 The project channelized the river to a constant width of 275m 99 202.79 hectares of Riverbed land has been reclaimed to create 11.25 kms of riverfront on both sides of the bank 99 The Vasna Barrage holds water channelized by the Narmada Canal to hold and provide water year-long 99 Rehabilitation of Slum Dwellers: around 10,000 households were resettled 99 The project has created organized space for informal activities such as dhobi ghat and Gujari Bazaar 99 Event area and promenade 99 Urban forestry and public gardens 99 Installation of the sewage treatment system 99 Providing Water recreational activities

Project Implementation 99 Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Ltd. (SRFDCL) was an SPV formed by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation for implementation of the riverfront project. 99 The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) provided a loan to SRFDCL which has been supplemented by AMC’s investment in the share capital of the SPV. The Housing and Urban Development Company (HUDCO) has also provided a loan for the Project. 99 Total cost of the project is INR 1103.41 cr. The project envisions selling 14% of the riverfront area as premium land for commercial use. Study by the World Bank estimates land parcels along the Sabarmati as the most valuable land in the city. 99 AMC estimates land monetization strategy would generate revenues to cover the investments in the project. To further encourage monetization, F.A.R of 5.4 has been allowed for commercial projects.

Smart Cites Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 35 36 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. Way Forward 5

Smart Cites Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 37 5 | Way Forward

Tourism is an integral part of the smart city phenomenon, and with an increasing amount of people migrating to urban areas, emerging smart cities need re-engineered governance processes, policies and tools in order to reduce the impact on organization of cities and urban livability, including increasing use of technological components in citizen services delivery as well as data interpretation to improve infrastructure and amenities.

Cultural heritage, cultural and creative industries, arts and crafts, sustainable cultural tourism, culture- led urban revitalization and cultural infrastructure can serve as strategic tools for livelihood and revenue generation, inclusive economic development, attracting investments and ensuring green, local and stable jobs.

As per UNESCO, cultural tourism presently accounts for 40% of world tourism revenues. Cultural heritage sites in general, and particularly, those inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, generate valuable revenues and employment from tourism.

Urban tourism, if designed carefully can benefit host of communities, provide significant links between urban heritage assets and sustainable development. Protection, preservation and safeguarding of urban cultural heritage go in tandem with the sustainable development of urban tourism.

5.1 Capacity Building

Capacity building for tourism in smart cities would involve local community participation, improving governance efficiency, PPP investments and projects, hospitality and tourism services skills with knowledge of foreign languages, food and beverages, culture and habits, which would be supplemented by signage of global standards and infrastructure for universal accessibility.

Cities can start by mapping the key stakeholders in the tourism value chain including the tourism sector, conservation specialists, community representatives, and other groups or individuals involved in economic, community, environmental management, and heritage protection activities. Through consultations, a Destination Management Plan can be formulated identifying the existing assets and gaps including the human capital.

Basis the skill gap assessment, cities can prepare relevant curriculum and programmes involving education and training institutions, NGOs and citizen organizations to train the youth.

38 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 5.2 Institutional Infrastructure

Strengthening Heritage Cell in ULBs can be an effective strategy to undertake conservation of heritage precincts and heritage city centers. These can be instrumental to 99 Provide dedicated financial and administrative support to ULBs for heritage protection and management. 99 Develop policies/ incentives for heritage conservation 99 Foster revenue generation and maintenance of heritage properties 99 Develop effective institutional framework/ structure at local level 99 Facilitate PPP 99 Provide tax incentives

5.3 Tourism Infrastructure Management Models

Infrastructure is the key enabling factor to tourism growth and performance. A tiny fraction of the overall visitor spend goes to the actual tourist site in majority of the destinations, with bulk expenditure towards transport and travel, accommodation, food, shopping and leisure. To gain maximum economic benefit from visitors, cities need to develop innovative products, frugal services, and working partnerships that create more economic value which would in turn support site management and sustainability.

There are four broad ways to generate finance for managing tourist sites and the supporting urban infrastructure: taxation, raising commercial revenue on site, raising commercial revenue beyond the site, and fundraising or working with external partners to secure investments.

For fundraising, apart from the Government, the following sources can be considered: 99 Charities, trusts, and foundations: There are many philanthropic trusts, charities, and organizations that have funds to invest in projects that meet their objectives of conserving art, culture and heritage. 99 Corporate sponsorships: By appropriately positioning and branding tourism sites, cities can attract corporate partners that may wish to associate with the site for branding and PR, or as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy. 99 High net worth individuals (HNIs): Apart from larger charities, many affluent people around the world are interested in contributing a part of their portfolio to promote and preserve art and heritage as a part of their personal philanthropic endeavours. 99 Residents: Sometimes a great source of funding and investment lies right within the city – in the form of its residents. Having a local community membership/donor scheme that encourages the involvement of local people in the preservation of the site can be a powerful tool. 99 Visitors: A growing number of destinations around the world are developing systems to encourage direct financial contributions from visitors to sustain the heritage at the heart of the destination, or for local socioeconomic development. Options include donation boxes and envelopes, ticket levy schemes, payback products, charity auctions, visitor gifting, membership or friends schemes, payroll giving, legacy gifting, and special events or experiences. 99 Citizens of the world: The rise of internet-based crowdsourcing models means that cities can reach out to an interested and sympathetic audience around the world.

Smart Cites Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 39 5.4 Sister Cities: International Collaboration

Cities across international borders are often interconnected through social networks, economy, culture, and shared natural resources. A sister city relationship is a long-term, cooperative relationship between two cities in different countries through which cultural, educational, business and technical exchanges can take place. The tradition of establishing sister cities dates back to Medieval Europe, but the modern context of the tradition began after the Second World War as a means of fostering peace among cities across the world.

With India rapidly progressing on its plan to create a network of 100 Smart Cities, Sister City collaborations will be critical to ensure time bound completion of projects. The Varanasi – Kyoto Sister City agreement has been one of the first such engagements, and other Smart Cities of U.P. would greatly benefit by seeking such international partnerships. Figure 14: Sister City Engagement

Economic Student Arts & Culture Entrepreneurship Society & Policy Development Engagement

Source: YES BANK Analysis

In terms of tourism, sister cities play an even Famous Sister Cities: more important role by highlighting best practices for infrastructure development, New York City: Beijing, China; Budapest, Hungary; visitor management and engagement, skill Cairo, Egypt; London, England; Madrid, Spain development and destination branding. London, England: Arequipa, Peru; Berlin, The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) Germany; Moscow, Russia; New York City; Bogota, was created in 2004 to promote cooperation Colombia with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable Paris, France: Rome, Italy (There is even a famous urban development. The 116 cities which quote about these sister cities: “Only Paris is worthy currently make up this network work together of Rome; only Rome is worthy of Paris.”) towards a common objective: placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level to: 99 Strengthen the creation, production, distribution and dissemination of cultural activities, goods and services 99 Develop hubs of creativity and innovation and broaden opportunities for creators and professionals in the cultural sector 99 Improve access to and participation in cultural life, in particular for marginalized or vulnerable groups and individuals 99 Fully integrate culture and creativity into sustainable development plans.

Becoming a part of such a network can provide additional tools and resources to future smart cities for tourism growth and management.

40 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 5.5 Branding

A quarter-century ago, cities sought to promote a positive image mainly because they wanted to attract tourists and foreign investments. These cities have now realized that in order to compete against other global population centers, they need to position themselves as attractive places for knowledge workers, institutions, cultural and sporting events, and even film shoots. City branding is the confluence of identity, reputation and the promise that any individual city can become known for certain characteristics, enabling it to compete globally for population, students, cultural events, corporations, ventures and live entertainment which in turn would bring in revenue and stimulate future growth.

Figure 15: City Branding Perspectives

Citizens Tourists - Would you like to Would you want to live here? visit here? - Are you happy with the lifestyle?

Innovation Business - Does this place - Can you get an have the ability to environment inspire and provide conducive to solutions? growth?

Source: YES BANK Analysis City positioning involves leaders bringing together different stakeholders to measure the city’s identity against other places with comparable assets; engage citizens and city institutions to build an alliance; align existing events and marketing with an agreed-upon common story; train citizens and civic leaders to be ambassadors of that story; and review progress annually to develop additional approaches. 99 Sports and recreation is another niche area where cities have an important opportunity to build long term brand equity. While cities like Boston and Chicago host marathons that have become synonymous with the cities, many other destinations around the world hold sport meets and events that create tangible economic benefits in terms of local jobs, sports infrastructure, global TV viewership. They export local intangible assets like art forms, culture, and heritage, and also contribute positively to building a city’s character by providing its citizens with an ecosystem encouraging healthy lifestyles. Sports like Polo and Golf also hold immense potential for emerging Smart Cities of U.P., and can be leveraged through creation of requisite infrastructure.

For dedicated and long-term branding, cities can look at collaborating with 99 Consumer media houses such as BBC, National Geographic Travel, Lonely Planet 99 Travel industry specific media enterprises and forums such as Travel Agent Central, World Travel Agents Association Alliance 99 Niche associations in areas such as Golf Tourism, Medical Tourism

Hosting knowledge based and industry events on urban tourism will also assist the cities in garnering global attention.

Smart Cites Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 41 Conclusion

With a wide range of tourist attractions and a diverse socio-cultural fabric, the smart cities of Uttar Pradesh have a unique opportunity of transforming their ageing infrastructure through innovative tourism model while also preserving their centuries old legacy and traditions.

Urban planners and other stakeholders in the tourism sector need to be provided innovative policy and knowledge tools in order to develop and formulate their own successful results, which the system can then replicate to delve deeper into any given subject that falls in line with the city’s local interests, needs, and aspirations.

The mission provides an opportunity for cities to look beyond primary attraction points to develop tourist facilities – provide information at transit hubs, clean rivers, improve transport to connect points of interest, create eco-friendly zones, develop medical tourism including Ayurveda and encourage environmental conservation. It is important to plan the right mix of uses and strategically place retail zones for business and other services to thrive. Smart cities in India can play an indispensible role in promoting MICE tourism. This in turn requires extensive planning by skilled and knowledgeable workforce, calling for skill development programs in this domain.

India has a varied economic base and is poised to gain the most from multiplier effects of tourism. The awareness and opportunities of heritage conservation and urban tourism has significantly risen over the last couple of years. Going beyond the Smart City Mission, ensuring convergence of resources for urban tourism development can ensure socio-economic progress at the grassroots. Cities in India can garner significant economic gain by upgrading tourism infrastructure. The Smart City Mission and HRIDAY have an indispensible role to play in urban regeneration and employment generation, which would make these initiatives truly inclusive.

42 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. Smart Cites Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P. 43 1,040 Branches Pan India | 1,800 ATMs | 20,000+ Yes Bankers Northern Regional Office: 48, Nyaya Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi – 110 021 Registered and Head Office: 9th Floor, Nehru Centre, Dr. Annie Besant Road, Worli, Mumbai – 400 018 www.yesbank.in 44 Smart Cities Fostering Sustainable Tourism in U.P.