Summary
Three-day virtual conference seeks to find solutions to pandemic challenges
The conference was sponsored by the Union ministry of tourism
A three-day virtual conference conducted by Jamia Millia Islamia delved into the effects of the pandemic on the hospitality industry and sought to find solutions.
The conference on “Enterprise and Entrepreneurialism in Tourism and Hospitality” was hosted by the institute’s Tourism and Hospitality department and sponsored by the Union ministry of tourism. The webinar was held from January 28 to 30.
The conference began with a welcome address by patron Mohd. Asaduddin, dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Languages at Jamia. He spoke about the challenges faced by the hospitality industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and called for serious deliberations by academics and industry experts to find long-lasting resilient solutions for the recovery and revival of the industry. The conference aimed to initiate such dialogue, Asaduddin said.
The conference chair and head of the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Jamia, Sarah Hussain, said tourism has been one of the fastest growing sectors in India and across the world. The university, owing to its close association with tourism companies and NGOs, has been alive to the present conditions. The need of the hour is a highly interactive engagements with the stakeholders.
Najma Akhtar, the vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islami, stressed the need for the active collaboration of the industry and the academia. She emphasised that the university has always striven to bring out the best research and collaborative projects with the practitioners and to make it an institution aspiring to deliver solutions even at the international level.
The chief guest and vice-chancellor of the Central University of Himachal Pradesh, S.P. Bansal, highlighted new trends such as staycations that have come up during the pandemic and stressed the need to promote local tourism in the countryside to create job opportunities in villages.
Vinod Zutshi, former secretary of the tourism ministry and the guest of honour, spoke about the draft National Tourism Policy and the great work done by the government in financially.
Last updated on 30 Jan 2022
