Itihaas - Indian Heritage Tourism Platform

🌟 Overview

Itihaas is a comprehensive Indian heritage tourism platform that connects travelers with India's rich cultural heritage, monuments, and historical sites. The platform offers guided tours, merchandise, interactive maps, and a unique reward system to enhance the tourism experience.

🏛️ Features

Core Features

• Interactive Heritage Map: Explore UNESCO World Heritage sites and monuments across India
• Guided Tours: Connect with certified tour guides for personalized experiences
• Booking System: Reserve visits to monuments and heritage sites
• Multilingual Support: Available in English and Hindi
• User Reviews & Ratings: Share experiences and read reviews from other travelers
• News Integration: Stay updated with latest heritage and tourism news

E-commerce Features

• Heritage Merchandise: Shop for traditional Indian clothing and souvenirs
• Shopping Cart: Add items and manage your shopping experience
• Order Management: Track orders and view order history
• Payment Integration: Secure payment processing

User Management

• User Registration & Authentication: Secure login system with email verification
• Profile Management: Upload profile pictures and manage personal information
• Guide Registration: Special registration for tour guides
• Admin Dashboard: Comprehensive admin panel for platform management

Interactive Features

• AI Chatbot: Get instant assistance and information about heritage sites
• WhatsApp Integration: Receive booking confirmations via WhatsApp
• Automated Messaging: Scheduled notifications and updates
• Itihaas Coins: Reward system for user engagement and activities

Content Features

• Festival Calendar: Discover festivals and celebrations across India
• Video Content: Educational videos about heritage sites
• Photo Galleries: Visual exploration of monuments and sites
• Audio Narration: Guided audio tours for monuments

🛠️ Technology Stack

Backend

• Flask: Python web framework
• SQLAlchemy: Database ORM
• Flask-Login: User authentication
• Flask-WTF: Form handling and CSRF protection
• Flask-Babel: Internationalization support

Frontend

• HTML5/CSS3: Modern responsive design
• JavaScript: Interactive user experience
• Bootstrap: UI framework for responsive layouts

External APIs

• Google Maps API: Interactive mapping and location services
• GNews API: Real-time news integration
• WhatsApp Business API: Messaging integration

Database

• SQLite: Development database
• SQLAlchemy: Database management and migrations

📦 Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher
• pip (Python package manager)
• Git

Setup Instructions

1. Clone the repository

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd itihaas

2. Navigate to the project directory

   cd project

3. Create a virtual environment

   python -m venv venv

4. Activate the virtual environment

   # On Windows
   venv\Scripts\activate
   
   # On macOS/Linux
   source venv/bin/activate

5. Install dependencies

   pip install -r requirements.txt

6. Set up environment variables Create a .env file in the project directory with the following variables:

   FLASK_APP=main.py
   FLASK_ENV=development
   SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key-here
   EMAIL_USER=your-email@gmail.com
   EMAIL_PASSWORD=your-app-password
   GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY=your-google-maps-api-key
   GNEWS_API_KEY=your-gnews-api-key

7. Initialize the database

   python main.py

8. Run the application

   flask run

The application will be available at http://localhost:5000

🗂️ Project Structure

itihaas/
├── project/
│   ├── main.py                 # Application entry point
│   ├── config.py              # Configuration settings
│   ├── requirements.txt       # Python dependencies
│   ├── models.py             # Database models
│   └── website/
│       ├── __init__.py       # Flask app factory
│       ├── views.py          # Main route handlers
│       ├── auth.py           # Authentication routes
│       ├── merchandise.py    # E-commerce functionality
│       ├── chatbot.py        # AI chatbot integration
│       ├── whatsapp.py       # WhatsApp messaging
│       ├── automated_messaging.py  # Automated notifications
│       ├── models.py         # Database models
│       ├── merchandise_models.py   # E-commerce models
│       ├── static/           # Static files (CSS, JS, images)
│       └── templates/        # HTML templates
└── README.md

🚀 Key Features Explained

Interactive Map

• Explore heritage sites across India
• Filter by categories (temples, forts, palaces, etc.)
• Get detailed information about each site
• View location coordinates and directions

Booking System

• Reserve visits to monuments
• Select preferred dates and times
• Choose number of visitors
• Receive confirmation via email and WhatsApp

Guide Management

• Certified guides can register on the platform
• Users can browse and book guides
• Guide profiles with experience and specializations
• Rating and review system for guides

Merchandise Shop

• Traditional Indian clothing and accessories
• Secure shopping cart functionality
• Order tracking and history
• Multiple payment options

Itihaas Coins

• Earn coins for various activities
• Redeem coins for discounts and rewards
• Track coin balance and transaction history

🔧 Configuration

Environment Variables

• SECRET_KEY: Flask secret key for session management
• EMAIL_USER: Gmail address for sending emails
• EMAIL_PASSWORD: Gmail app password
• GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY: Google Maps API key
• GNEWS_API_KEY: GNews API key for news integration

All of these are read from the environment (or project/.env); nothing is hard-coded. Without EMAIL_USER/EMAIL_PASSWORD, sign-up skips the emailed verification code.

Database Configuration

The application uses SQLite by default for development. For production, you can configure other databases like PostgreSQL or MySQL by setting DATABASE_URL.

🌐 Hosting (Vercel) and mobile

• project/vercel.json deploys the Flask app with project/ as the root directory. project/public/static is a symlink to website/static: Vercel serves public/ from its CDN, so images, CSS and video don't go through the function. (The folder has to exist in the repo; one created by a build command is not picked up.)
• Database: set DATABASE_URL (or connect a Postgres store under the Vercel project's Storage tab, which sets POSTGRES_URL) and the tables are created and the shop seeded on first start. Without one, each Vercel instance uses its own SQLite file in /tmp: fine for a quick look, but accounts and bookings don't carry across instances or cold starts. Uploads always go to /tmp on Vercel.
• The map uses Google Maps when GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY is set and accepted, and falls back to OpenStreetMap (sites only, no directions) when it isn't.
• News comes from GNews when GNEWS_API_KEY works and from Google News RSS (no key) otherwise; results are cached for 30 minutes.
• The admin login (itihaasdairy@gmail.com) uses the password in ADMIN_PASSWORD; without it the admin login is disabled. The live deployment runs in Vercel's Sydney region, next to the database.
• The pages use web-sized videos from website/static/media (about 30 MB in total, versus over 300 MB for the originals, which stay in Git LFS).
• Phones: static/css/mobile.css adds the compact header, stacked map controls, swipeable shop categories and readable text. The site is installable as an app (web manifest, icons, service worker with an offline page): "Add to Home Screen" on iOS, "Install app" on Android.
• WhatsApp confirmations (pywhatkit) need a desktop with a display: pip install -r requirements-whatsapp.txt.

📱 API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /sign-up: User registration
• POST /login: User login
• POST /logout: User logout
• POST /verify-email: Email verification

Tours & Bookings

• GET /index: Heritage sites listing
• POST /book: Create new booking
• GET /booking-history: View booking history
• POST /guide-signup: Guide registration

Merchandise

• GET /shop: Product catalog
• GET /product/<id>: Product details
• POST /add-to-cart: Add to shopping cart
• POST /checkout: Process order

Reviews & Ratings

• GET /review: View all reviews
• POST /api/reviews: Submit new review

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

👥 Team

• CEO: Project leadership and strategy
• CTO: Technical architecture and development
• CRO: Revenue optimization and business development
• Curator: Content management and heritage expertise

📞 Support

For support and queries:

• Email: itihaasdairy@gmail.com
• Website: Itihaas Platform

🔮 Future Enhancements

• Mobile app development
• Virtual reality tours
• Advanced AI recommendations
• Social media integration
• Multi-language support expansion
• Advanced analytics dashboard

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Itihaas - Preserving India's Heritage, One Journey at a Time 🇮🇳