The Ministry of Tourism reckons an additional manpower requirement of 2.03 lakh in the hospitality sector during the 12th Plan period. The Ministry proposes to achieve this through expansion of institutional infrastructure; broad-basing of hospitality education; skill up-gradation and certification of service providers; skill development through short duration courses, through hotels and in niche and other products.
Addressing a conclave on Furthering Quality Capacity Building in Tourism-2012, Mr Sanjay Kothari, Special Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, pointed out, “The focus of the private sector should be on short duration courses; introduction of hospitality as vocational subject at secondary education and synergy of efforts with other ministries and organisations of Government of India and state governments.”
The 12th Plan (2012-17) envisages a growth of 12 per cent per annum in inbound and domestic tourists. The current initiatives and the ones proposed are expected to generate 25 million additional direct and indirect jobs in the country.
On the occasion, Mr Kothari also released the FICCI-YES Bank theme paper Furthering Quality Capacity Building in Tourism which emphasises that tourism sector touches a wide value chain, and it is imperative that investments into, and benefits garnered from the sector, spread out more widely and efficiently amongst the populace, thereby acting as a strong socio-economic enabler.
Mr Sidharth Birla, Vice President, FICCI, said, “The conclave aims to focus on furthering quality capacity building in four key and ground level elements for the tourism industry, namely tourist guides, taxi drivers, hotels and restaurants and tour operators and travel agents.”
“The hospitality sector is comparatively better developed with many training Institutes in place. However, capacity building needs to be institutionalised for emerging options such as budget hotels, serviced apartments and restaurants and hotels in the unorganised segment, to improve service levels,” he added.
Dr Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson, FICCI Tourism Committee and Chairperson & Managing Director, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, remarked, “The unorganised sector is a cause for concern as the level of training is uncertain although the experience of the tourists is also affected by their services. Budget hotels, restaurants, wayside amenities, small tour operators and travel agents and drivers all come under this sector.”
She called for periodic assessment by the corporate sector and the policy makers must be carried out across the key focus areas to ensure that the guidelines are adhered to and are implemented. According to Mr Tushar Pandey, President & Country Head, Strategic Initiatives Government & Advisory (SIGA) Group, YES Bank Ltd., to enhance the skills of the workforce in the travel and tourism trade, a number of initiatives would have to be undertaken by the stakeholders. These include:
The policies and guidelines have to be in sync with the market. An active industry-academia alliance is one way to ensure this, while constant interaction between the industry and the government can help the policy formulation process.
Dr Arbind Prasad, Director General, FICCI, stated, “An investment of Rs 10 lakh creates 78 jobs in the tourism sector while the same generates just 18 jobs in the manufacturing and 45 in the agriculture sector.” This clearly shows the potential of the tourism sector and the conclave aims to focus exclusively on furthering the quality of capacity building to offer the tourists a pleasant and meaningful experience that would go a long way in furthering the strong image of ‘Incredible India’.
Courtesy : Indiaeducationdairy
Addressing a conclave on Furthering Quality Capacity Building in Tourism-2012, Mr Sanjay Kothari, Special Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, pointed out, “The focus of the private sector should be on short duration courses; introduction of hospitality as vocational subject at secondary education and synergy of efforts with other ministries and organisations of Government of India and state governments.”
The 12th Plan (2012-17) envisages a growth of 12 per cent per annum in inbound and domestic tourists. The current initiatives and the ones proposed are expected to generate 25 million additional direct and indirect jobs in the country.
On the occasion, Mr Kothari also released the FICCI-YES Bank theme paper Furthering Quality Capacity Building in Tourism which emphasises that tourism sector touches a wide value chain, and it is imperative that investments into, and benefits garnered from the sector, spread out more widely and efficiently amongst the populace, thereby acting as a strong socio-economic enabler.
Mr Sidharth Birla, Vice President, FICCI, said, “The conclave aims to focus on furthering quality capacity building in four key and ground level elements for the tourism industry, namely tourist guides, taxi drivers, hotels and restaurants and tour operators and travel agents.”
“The hospitality sector is comparatively better developed with many training Institutes in place. However, capacity building needs to be institutionalised for emerging options such as budget hotels, serviced apartments and restaurants and hotels in the unorganised segment, to improve service levels,” he added.
Dr Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson, FICCI Tourism Committee and Chairperson & Managing Director, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, remarked, “The unorganised sector is a cause for concern as the level of training is uncertain although the experience of the tourists is also affected by their services. Budget hotels, restaurants, wayside amenities, small tour operators and travel agents and drivers all come under this sector.”
She called for periodic assessment by the corporate sector and the policy makers must be carried out across the key focus areas to ensure that the guidelines are adhered to and are implemented. According to Mr Tushar Pandey, President & Country Head, Strategic Initiatives Government & Advisory (SIGA) Group, YES Bank Ltd., to enhance the skills of the workforce in the travel and tourism trade, a number of initiatives would have to be undertaken by the stakeholders. These include:
The policies and guidelines have to be in sync with the market. An active industry-academia alliance is one way to ensure this, while constant interaction between the industry and the government can help the policy formulation process.
- Tour guide associations should be consultative partners during policy formulation as well as feedback.
- Assessment of training programmes is still an area of concern, since while following the criteria of ‘minimum percentage’ or ‘passing grade’ would suffice for technical, it loses its accuracy in terms of vocational education, where the purpose is ‘enabling’ instead of ‘evaluating’.
- The owner of the taxi stands/the operators on ground need to be roped in by the Department of Tourism in each state to train the ground drivers.
- The drivers, who often face precarious situations like accident and road blocks need to be trained in crisis management skills and first aid administration.
- The concept of People Public Private Partnership (PPPP) or Public Social Private Partnership (PSPP) as a more inclusive form of development is gaining force as an attempt to restore the social equity in PPP models, as the dispersive nature of the effects of incremental tourism tend to affect a wide part of the society.
Dr Arbind Prasad, Director General, FICCI, stated, “An investment of Rs 10 lakh creates 78 jobs in the tourism sector while the same generates just 18 jobs in the manufacturing and 45 in the agriculture sector.” This clearly shows the potential of the tourism sector and the conclave aims to focus exclusively on furthering the quality of capacity building to offer the tourists a pleasant and meaningful experience that would go a long way in furthering the strong image of ‘Incredible India’.
Courtesy : Indiaeducationdairy
Crosswoods holidays 2012
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