one week National Workshop on ‘Tourism and Hospitality Services Management’ organised by Faculty Development Centre, an MHRD centre

“Tourism in India is on a high growth trajectory, that has brought significant changes in demand and supply patterns. Tourism being a service industry, its growth would continue as long as supply of human resource and service providers matches the demand of the industry. The key to future success in tourism would however depend upon the quality of services and therefore quality training of human resource to prepare professional and talented service providers, is the immediate need of the hour. The role of tourism educational institutions and educators therefore assumes very high importance..With fast changing tourism environment, use of digital technology in the sector, e-commerce bringing about paradigm shift in consumer behaviour and emergence of Niche tourism areas, it is time that educational institutions in the tourism sector accelerated their focus on strengthening the skills and competency of their teaching faculty, sensitized them to the changing needs and demands in tourism sector and ensured regular industry – academia interaction with a view to producing quality and professional manpower for the sector.”

Addressed at the Valedictory Session of one week National Workshop on ‘Tourism and Hospitality Services Management’ organised by Faculty Development Centre, an MHRD centre at Garhwal Central University in Srinagar, Uttarakhand.

Developing Island Tourism in India

“India’s potential of Island Tourism is huge and unexplored. The islands of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep have a strategic advantage for being developed into exotic tourism destinations. Holistic and sustainable development of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands has now caught the attention of the Union Government… The constitution of ‘Island Development Agency’ under the Chairpersonship of the Union Home Minister is an indicator of intent, vision and focus of the Government towards development of these islands into world class tourism destinations… Government is in the process of preparing final site potential development report for four islands in Andaman & Nicobar namely, Smith, Ross, Long and Aves islands and five islands in Lakshadweep namely Minicoy, Bangaram, Thinnakara, Cheriyam and Suheli Islands. Among these islands, six eco-tourism projects for private sector participation have been identified on Andaman & Nicobar, with three projects on Smith, Aves and Long Islands, two projects on Little Andaman and one project on Neil Island. Among the identified islands of Lakshadweep, five ecotourism projects are in the pipeline with three projects on Kadmat, Minicoy and Suheli and two water villa projects on Minicoy and Suheli islands.
The focus on the development of these islands will foster growth of tourism in the region, invigorate the economic potential of the islands and provide new job opportunities to the inhabitants in these islands. The day is not so far when India, with such a large treasure of island territories will emerge as a leader in the world in the area of Island Tourism outpacing other island destinations in the Asian subcontinent.”

My opinion piece in the opinion column of March 2019 edition of Destination Reporter, an India Travel Magazine.

For downloading the opinion piece, please go to the link:
https://destinationreporterindia.com/…/developing-island-t…/

8th India Heritage Tourism Conclave, organised by PHDCCI

India is one of the few countries that is gifted with history, cultural diversities, natural resources and variety of religions, an ideal mix of heritage tourism products. India has served as the cradle for many civilizations and has left an indispensable mark in the world history. The country’s inventory of diverse cultural heritage is immense with multiple ethnicities, customs, festivals, languages, clothing, folk lore, dances and culinary. India is also blessed with a variety of natural heritage in the form of Himalayas, Wildlife, Forests and Rivers and the country offers a mixed culture of all religions.

India’s history, its rich and diverse culture, the natural resources and its heritage of spiritualism and religions comprise the ecosystem of heritage tourism of the country. If India has to benefit from the virtues of heritage tourism for all times to come, an ecosystem has to be created by all stakeholders, which is sustainable and based on the principles of sustainability.

India’s rich heritage has to be preserved, conserved and sustained at any cost and the onus of bringing in a sustainable ecosystem of heritage tourism lies on each and every person of the country.

Participated and Chaired the panel discussion on the subject ‘Creating A Sustainable Ecosystem for Promotion of Heritage Tourism’ at 8th India Heritage Tourism Conclave, organised by PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry at WelcomHotel The Savoy, Mussoorie.

 

5th PHD Aviation Summit 2019

India’s Aviation sector is witnessing a high growth trajectory and is currently one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world. The rapid growth has however been hamstrung by shortage of appropriate skills comprising not only trained pilots but also aircraft engineers, technicians, cabin crew, ground handling staff, cargo handling and airport management staff. The boom in aviation sector in the country has led to the challenge of bridging critical skill gaps in almost all sub-sectors of aviation.

While number of measures have been initiated by the Union Government under National Civil Aviation Policy 2016, it is time that the policies are translated into key strategic interventions to meet the current and future requirement of quality skilled workforce for aviation sector namely skill gap analysis; future projections of skilled manpower; institutional strengthening; augmenting infrastructure and capacity building; re-engineering of training process; augmenting funding mechanisms; and placing a robust mechanism for monitoring, evaluation and certification.

Ministry of Civil Aviation, Aviation Industry and all stakeholders, need to integrate and coordinate their efforts to bridge the skill gap in a time bound manner, if India has to become the third largest air passenger market in the world by 2024. 
Chaired and Moderated the panel discussion at 5th PHD Aviation Summit 2019 on ‘Skilled and Safe Skies for Tomorrow’ at New Delhi.

New India Tourism Launch Event

New India Tourism, a new ‘Ideating’ & ‘Advisory’ forum and a ‘Think tank’ was launched yesterday, at a formal ceremony at Hotel Le Meridien in New Delhi. The new forum also organised its first event, a national seminar on the subject ‘Opportunities and Challenges of Tourism in New India’ with special focus on exploring India’s heritage diversities, leveraging heritage and promoting the curated heritage (museums) in New India.

The launch ceremony and the seminar were also attended and addressed by Excellency, Ambassador of Greece; Director General, Indian Council for Cultural Relations; Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India; and President, Indian Heritage Hotels Association.

New India Tourism aims to think, ideate and advise, on the opportunities and challenges of tourism in New India. The forum has been setup with the vision to take ‘India’s past, forward’ by showcasing India’s ancient, royal and cultural heritage and all other USPs of India Tourism. The forum will also convene seminars, conclaves, marts, expositions and other events both in domestic and global markets to showcase and promote New India as a world class destination.

With a view to supporting and facilitating Government and all stakeholders related to travel & tourism, hospitality, aviation and tourism infrastructure, New India Tourism proposes to work hand in hand with Ministry of Tourism for all verticals of tourism sector: with Ministry of Civil Aviation, Railways and Surface Transport for connectivity matters: with Ministry of Health & Ayush for medical, health & wellness: with Ministry of Commerce for MICE & Business tourism and likewise proposes to work with State Govts, Public Bodies, Industry Associations, Committees and Tourism industry.

Addressed the launch ceremony of New India Tourism as Chairman of the Advisory Board of the new forum and called upon all stakeholders for their cooperation and support to this new endeavour.

Destination Wedding

‘Destination Weddings’ is a growing Niche market, that has impacted tourism destinations all over the world. India is one such destination, which is emerging as a popular wedding destination. A recent study has shown that wedding market in India is more than INR One hundred thousand crores, of which INR Twenty five thousand crores is the share of destination weddings. The wedding industry in India is expected to register a growth of 25 to 30 percent in coming years.

There is ample reason for India’s high potential in destination wedding sector. The country has a blend of diverse, exotic and beautiful locations suitable for all tastes and occasions. To name a few, India has, the Lake City Udaipur for Pretty weddings; Pink City Jaipur and Sun City Jodhpur for Royal marriages; Goa for beach weddings and Kerala for weddings in the midst of backwaters.

Many more wedding destinations are emerging in India. One such mesmerising location experienced recently is ‘The Savoy’ in Mussoorie (see pics). A 117 years old heritage property, located at over 6500 ft. above sea level and overlooking the Himalayas, ‘The Savoy’ had the unique combination of history, natural beauty and pleasant weather. A dream wedding destination indeed.

Days are not far when India would outpace our competitor countries, namely Thailand, Malaysia, Mauritius, Turkey and Maldives, which have so far attracted Indians for destination weddings.

To make India, a leading wedding tourism destination in the world, all stakeholders in the tourism sector need to integrate their efforts and to brand India as a prominent destination for weddings through aggressive promotion and marketing.

India the Land of Buddha

India is the ‘Land of Buddha’. The State of Bihar, in particular, offers an enriching experience of ‘Buddhist Trail’. While Bodh Gaya is the main centre of attraction, Nalanda and Rajgir are two prominent destinations of Buddhist Circuit in the State. Gautam Buddha is said to have visited and preached at both these places.

Nalanda, regarded as one of the greatest universities of ancient world, rose into prominence in 5th Century AD as a great Monastic-cum- Educational Institution for oriental art and learning in the whole Buddhist World, attracting students from distant countries including China.

In Rajgir, ‘Venu Vana’ and the ‘Gridhra-kuta’ are two notable locations where Buddha lived, meditated and preached.

Visiting Nalanda and Rajgir, last week, was indeed an Incredible Experience and a proud moment. They are such ‘rare sites’ that showcase Bihar as ‘land of Buddha’, as an epicentre of India’s glorious past and as the ‘Birth Place of Ancient Education’ all-in-one & are the ‘Must-Visit’ and ’Must Experience’Tourism destinations of Incredible India !!

Buddhist Tourism is like a ‘Gold Mine’ for India Tourism in general and for Bihar Tourism ,in particular. Not enough has, however been extracted so far. China , Japan, Srilanka, Thailand, Bhutan,Myanmar, Vietnam, Taiwan and Cambodia are big source markets for attracting Buddhist travellers. The Union Govt , Govt of Bihar and Stakeholders in Tourism Industry, will however have to go the ‘extra mile’ to harness the untapped potential of Buddhist Tourism, by focusing on issues of Connectivity, Ease of Travel, on building World Class Tourism Infrastructure in and around Buddha Circuit and on Integrated promotion.

Religious Tourism

India is a country of origin of many religions and is adorned by number of religious tourism destinations spread all over the country. Religious tourism is therefore one of the strongest USPs of India Tourism.

Recently, I had the privilege to visit three holy destinations namely Patna (ancient Patliputra), Rajgir (ancient Rajagrha) and Pawapuri in Bihar which are blessed by footprints of the Founders and Saints of three religions of Indian origin, namely Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Patna is decorated with Takhat Sri Harimandir ji Patna Sahib, where Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the 10th Guru of the Sikhs was born and lived. Rajgir, around 100 kilometres from Patna is a sacred destination where both Lord Buddha and Lord Mahavira lived and taught their beliefs during 5th & 6th Century B.C. and Pawapuri where Lord Mahavira attained Mahanirvana.

The glorious history of this era can also be seen at Bihar Museum at Patna, one of the best architecturally designed Museums in India and a ‘must-watch’ gallery.

Tourism Ministry has been proactively supporting religious tourism by developing tourism infrastructure under Buddhist, Ramayan and Krishna Circuits. Lately, Ministry and some of the State Governments have started tapping the potential of Jain Tourism as well, by investing in infrastructure around Jain Tourism Destinations.

Religious tourism has a big future in India. India’s religious destinations are becoming a big attraction to travellers from all parts of the World.

Seamless connectivity, ease of travel and adequate tourism infrastructure can take religious tourism in India to commanding heights in the years to come.

Tapping the Global Adventure Tourism Market

“India, with immense diversity in geographical conditions and rich natural resources, offers immense opportunities to domestic and foreign travellers to undertake a variety of adventure activities. With 7500 Km coastal belt, 73 percent of the Himalayan ranges, the terrain of north east, the Vindhya and Satpura ranges, the Aravallis, the Western and Eastern Ghats, the backwaters, the Sundarbans and a huge network of inland rivers, India is endowed with all natural resources required for land, water and air-based adventure activities.”

My Opinion column “Tapping the Global Adventure Tourism Market” in July 2018 edition of Destination Reporter, an India Travel Magazine.