Mr Rakesh Matur, CEO of WelcomHeritage Hotels

Rakesh Mathur is currently the CEO of WelcomHeritage Hotels, a Company formed in 1997 as a joint venture of ITC Hotels Ltd. and Gaj Singhji, the Maharaja of Jodhpur, to promote Heritage Hotels and Tourism in India, now comprising of about 65 Heritage Palaces, Forts and Resorts all over India.  Prior to this, he was the Executive Director and COO, for what was then known as BASS Hotels and Resorts, (now known as the IHG) for South West Asia till May, 2001.  With a Degree in Economics Honours from Delhi University, he began his professional career in Hotel Management with Oberoi Hotels in India in 1973 and has worked and grew in the industry in India and abroad.  He is Founder Vice President of the Ecotourism Society of India and a Member of the Core Committee of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in establishing the Code of Conduct in line with the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria.  He also pioneered the concept and Code of Conduct for ‘Safe And Honourable Tourism’ aimed at sustaining India’s cultural heritage, which was adopted by the Ministry of Tourism, and for which he was awarded by the Indian Confederation of NGOs.  Apart from that he is a Member of the UNODC hosted Core Committee on GIFT – South Asia, and has won several awards for pioneering Heritage Tourism in India.  An active Rotarian, he is also on the Governing Body of the PATA India Chapter apart from several professional expert committees on tourism with Chambers of Commerce and Industry.