Covid-19 pandemic presents an opportunity to revisit the present tourism ecosystem for a more sustainable and resilient future, a webinar recently organized by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) highlighted.
Prahlad Singh Patel, India’s Tourism Minister in his deliberation during the event mentioned that the tourism sector has faced severe challenges due to the pandemic but it has also opened new opportunities for development and getting all the stakeholders together to overcome this situation.
Encouraging the students, the minister said that this crisis will bring about a change for the better and the young leaders will be making their careers in a much stronger, robust and an enterprising ecosystem.
Patel mentioned that under the guidance and support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ministry has been able to support the industry in the best way possible. “We have been able to open all the monuments, hotels and soon we will be able to open banquet halls in half capacity. We have been able to revive the air travel to a certain extent and we will continue to open the air travel market,” added Patel.
PHDCCI had organized the 4th edition of National Talent Competition in Tourism & Hospitality Sector with the theme Re-packaging Tourism and Hospitality for ‘New Normal’ between August 19 to 20, 2020.
Eighteen teams consisting of students from 12 tourism and hospitality management institutes from all over the country took part in the competition and highlighted strategies towards the recovery of this sector while encouraging new business models, embracing digitalization, and meeting the safety demands of the guests.
Suman Billa, Director – Technical Cooperation & Silk Road Development, UNWTO, deliberated about the challenges faced in the tourism sector due to the pandemic and mentioned that globally, there will be fewer travellers this year due to which there will be a reduction in tourism revenue. “This will have an adverse impact on the job markets as well. We can estimate that it will take 2-3 years for the global economy to bounce back,” cautioned Billa.
“For India, the tourism and hospitality sector will see three phases that are survival phase; revival phase and thrive phase,” said the erstwhile Joint Secretary of India’s Ministry of Tourism.
Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General – Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, said that the Covid-19 pandemic has allowed the industry to think out of the box and question a few things that went wrong. She also asked the students to come up with innovative ideas on how to promote Incredible India in domestic and overseas markets.
Sanjay Aggarwal, Senior Vice President, PHDCCI, lauded the steps undertaken by the government to provide significant cushion to the tourism and hospitality sector in these tough times of the pandemic to aid their revival, growth and contribution towards economic growth.
K B Kachru, Chairman Emeritus & Principal Advisor – South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group, said that the tourism industry was the first which saw a complete shutdown in the very first months of the lockdown, but this industry is known for bouncing back and will continue to evolve in the years to come. “The key solution is that we re-imagine, re-invent, re-align, and re-package our offerings, whether it is operations or guest expectations,” noted Kachru.
Talking about the trends of travel in the recovery phase, Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO – South Asia, Middle East & North Africa and Americas, VFS Global, pointed out that traveling to new places will still be on the traveller’s bucket lists; luxury travel will thrive since it offers an extra element of safety and exclusivity; adventure travelers will continue to explore outdoors, and health in addition to safety and security would be amongst the new norms.
The winners of the competition were evaluated by a distinguished panel of jury members that included Vinod Zutshi, Former Secretary – Tourism, Government of India; Rajan Bahadur, CEO, Tourism and Hospitality Skill Council; Anil Parashar, President and CEO, InterGlobe Technology Quotient; Divia Thani, Editor, Conde Nast Traveller; and Kush Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, Roseate Hotels & Resorts.
Garware Institute of Career Education & Development, University of Mumbai represented by Rinali Parmar and Simran Thakur was adjudged as the winner of the competition. Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration (WGSHA), Manipal represented by Kavya Kotekal and Nikita Singh and International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM), Delhi represented by Nipun Banerjee and Rupali Joshi were the 1st and the 2nd runners-up respectively.
Niranjani. B from Avinashilingam University, Tamil Nadu was selected as the ‘Best Budding Manager’ among all the participants. All the winners were awarded cash prizes, trophies, and certificates. The cash prizes were supported by the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Northern Region chapter.
Radha Bhatia, Chairperson – Tourism Committee, PHDCCI, in her address spoke about the importance of skill in the education field. She said that tourism has a great capacity to create large scale employment and the generation of massive productive employment opportunities is what India needs the most. She also highlighted how education and skill development can help boost the quality of the tourism and hospitality industry in the country.
Rajan Sehgal, Co-Chairman – Tourism Committee, PHDCCI, said that this competition will help the corporates for retention of the young talent pool and at the same time provide a unique opportunity to the budding Managers to demonstrate their creativity and professional prowess.
Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary General, PHDCCI, delivered the formal vote of thanks, where he expressed his gratitude to the eminent dignitaries and said that PHD Chamber will continue to organize such programs to bring the best out of best talent to the fore.
The webinar was moderated by Dr. Jatinder Singh, Director, PHDCCI, and received a participation of more than 150 participants.