Need to promote local tourism stressed on
A three-day International Conference (online) on “Enterprise and Entrepreneurialism in Tourism and Hospitality” between January 28 and 30 is being organised by the Department of Tourism and Hospitality, Jamia Millia Islamia. The conference is sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India.
The 3-day Conference commenced with the welcome address by the conference patron, Prof Mohd Asaduddin, Dean Faculty of Humanities and Languages. He felt, that the woes of the beleaguered industry in the wake of the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic, much serious deliberations by the practitioners and the academia are required for a concrete and long-lasting resilient solutions for the recovery and revival of the industry.
Therefore, this conference is conceived to initiate dialogues and consolidate the works of the entrepreneurs of the industry, he said.
Addressing the delegates, the Conference Chair and Head of Department, Dr Sarah Hussain stated that tourism has been one of the fastest growing sectors in India and the world. “The university owing to its close association with tourism companies and NGOs has been alive to the present conditions. Thus, it is necessary for a highly interactive engagement with the stakeholders,” she said.
Vice Chancellor Prof Najma Akhtar stressed the need for the active collaboration of the industry and the academia.
She emphasised that the university has always striven to bring out the best research and collaborative projects with the practitioners making it an institution aspiring to deliver solutions even at the international level.
The Chief Guest, Vice Chancellor of the Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Prof SP Bansal, highlighted the paradigm shift that has taken place in the new normal with the new trends of staycations and other practices and he also stressed the need to promote local tourism in the country side to create job opportunities for the local villages.
The Guest of Honour Vinod Zutshi, the former Secretary of Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India, while addressing the gathering, spoke about the draft National Tourism Policy and the great work done by the Government in supporting the entrepreneurs financially and the ease of doing businesses through the opening of registrations of the Tourism entrepreneurs under the MSME portals.
Also he highlighted the Govt’s role in making a conducive atmosphere for the support of the new start-ups.
A Book of Abstracts by Conference Organising Secretary, Dr Nusrat Yasmeen, Assistant Professor, DTHM, Jamia was released during the inaugural session.
Conference Patron Prof Nazim Husain Al-Jafri, Registrar, Jamia, addressed the gathering and talked about the social entrepreneurship.
He said the university understands the importance of harnessing the innovative capabilities and entrepreneurial possibilities.
This was followed by key note address by Prof Parikshat Singh Manhas, Director, School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Faculty of Business Studies, University of Jammu. Key take aways from his address were the model of successful strategies for the entrepreneurs with the inclusion of components such as tech savviness, adaptability, flexibility and acquiring of relevant skills amongst others.
With this the new age entrepreneurs shall be able to overcome the vagaries of crises in tourism and hospitality entrepreneurship as the key ingredients.
The Conference Co-Chair Prof Nimit Chowdhary, DTHM Jamia, concluded the inaugural event with the deep and profuse vote of thanks to all the guests and the participants.
The first session of the day was started with a Panel Discussion on the topic “Women in Tourism and Hospitality Entrepreneurship, issues and challenges” by Prof Sheeba Hamid (Professor, Coordinator & Training and Placement Officer of Masters Programme in Tourism, AMU), Dr Madhu Chandok, (WICCI Delhi NCR Chapter President), Sonia Singh (Co-Founder Nippon Taiyo Hospitality) and Deepika Arora, (Founder – Rosakue Hospitality), followed by a question-answer session.
