New Delhi: The cabinet minister for Ministry of Tourism, Subodh Kant Sahay was present for a national seminar organized by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) on Skills Development in Tourism and Hospitality sector in India. While addressing the day long seminar, the tourism minister highlighted the importance of training and escalating job opportunities in the field of Tourism. Sahay said that even a little bit of training in the field of tourism will contribute to employment, which is why every state must realize the worth of Tourism sector. During the session he also appreciated the efforts taken by IGNOU for tourism education. He said that in the tourism industry, even if they spend meager amount, the returns are enormous. Moreover, he added that by training even school drop-outs, IGNOU is doing a great job.
Sahay said that Domestic tourism is also a big area of activity. People indulge in religious pilgrimages to Amarnath, Vaishno Devi etc. and wherever such activities happen, your requirement is absolutely necessary, highlighting the significance of students pursuing the tourism related course from IGNOU. Mr. V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice-Chancellor (VC) of IGNOU, while recounting the importance of tourism said that this industry contributes to seven percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Mr Pillai mentioned that the private and the public sector together can meet 40 % of the demand, but the question comes as to how other industries could innovatively deal with this industry.
Furthermore, while discussing about the various courses offered by IGNOU, Harkirat Bains, the director of IGNOU’s School of Tourism and Hospitality Services Sectoral Management said that the university has come up with a variety of tourism related courses ranging from certificate to Ph.D. to meet the rapidly increasing demands of tourism and hospitality sector. He mentioned that they add value to upgrading skills and make students employable immediately. Sources informed that the seminar was conducted in two different gatherings, a session on the topic of challenges of skills development and a panel discussion on the human resource development in the tourism and hospitality sector. This educative event was organized under the sponsorship of IGNOU’s SOTHSSM for the guidance of its students.
