January 25th every year is observed as the “National Tourism day” in India, wherein for this year it is being celebrated under the aegis of “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, the 75 week grand celebrations launched by the Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to mark the 75 years of India’s independence.

While speaking on the occasion, Professor Neelu Rohmetra, Director, IIM Sirmaur, accentuated on the need of effective alignment of leisure and career. Prof. Rohmetra reflected on the need of positioning sectoral programme of Tourism and Hospitality with the industry requirements. In doing so, the Director called upon industry leaders to offer insights to create opportunities for students to gain deeper corporate perspectives and become industry ready. Professor Rohmetra also touched on the potential of the Himalayan States and relevance of tourism industry and newer emerging dimensions.

Professor Rohmetra also shed light upon the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry. She also emphasized the need for identifying the region with historical importance and heritage to leverage tourism opportunities. She talked about the role of tourism in the Himalayan States like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.  She further spoke about IIM Sirmaur’s endless efforts in gauging the industry requirements to equip students.

Dr. Vikrant Kaushal, Area Chair Tourism and Hospitality Management also spoke on the occasion and shared his insights on the theme of the conclave.

Dr. Subhash Goyal, Chairman, STIC travel, initiated the Panel Discussion with the emphasis on having the necessary attitude to enter and sustain in the travel sector. Presenting views on agility, Dr. Goyal shared his long standing business firm STIC that persevered through the turbulent times since inception. Mr. Shashwat Sharma, Senior Director, Treebo Hotels, shared the pre-pandemic apogee and the turbulence that the organisation faced. He reflected on the need of developing leadership acumen to identify solution in the face of major crises.

Mr. Prashant Singh, Director of Revenue Management, Roseate Hotels, stressed on the agility needed among the industry actors. He stressed on the need of instilling soft skills and discipline and lauded those who have survived the blow of the current pandemic. Mr. Rajesh Rakheja, who excels in strategic decisions in travel, talked about the leadership resilience. He elaborated about the travel bubbles, workforce management amidst crisis, and restructuring of supply chain.   Mr. Vikram Sharma, Director of HR, Marriott International, stressed upon the need of innovation toward creating brands and proposed workforce management to be among the areas where newer transformations are expected in the next few years. Towards the end of the panel discussion, the experts took questions from the participants, which ranged from the tourism development potential in the North Eastern region of India to the need of learning physical geography of places and niche experiential start-ups that exhibit potential for disruption and success.    

It may be pertinent to mention that IIM Sirmaur is the first and the only IIM in the country to introduce the sectoral MBA programme of Tourism and Hospitality Management.

The event was coordinated by the students “Atithya club” of IIM Sirmaur.

Read Less