At Creative Convergence: Growth Reimagined- Creative Economy Week for India and the UK in Mumbai, Komal Agarwal, Sector Head & AVP, Tourism, Heritage and Coastal Development, was invited as a speaker at the Heritage Tourism and Cultural Destinations session organised by the British Council.
The initiative supports the ambitions of the India–UK Vision 2035 and the UK–India Programme of Cultural Cooperation (POCC), fostering collaboration across the creative economy.
Key takeaways from Komal’s address:
-Deepening ecological intelligence: Sustainable tourism demands that planning be anchored in a more rigorous understanding of the ecosystems it affects. She cautioned against relying solely on numerical carrying-capacity models and advocated adaptive management frameworks that monitor ecological thresholds and guide development.
-Heritage as catalytic investment: Heritage conservation projects should be assessed not only on direct financial returns, but as catalysts that stimulate private investment and local enterprise. She also shared innovative approaches to improving the bankability of such projects.
-Festivals and events as shared cultural products: These can open up new avenues for India–UK collaboration.