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Travel and Tourism
Travel
and Tourism is the world’s largest industry in terms of employment and
second to oil industry in terms of turnover. It is a service-based
industry and requires professionals and specialists skilled in various
disciplines. The industry broadly covers the following areas:
-
Hotels, restaurants and tourist complexes
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Travel agencies, tour operators
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Transport facilities for tourists
-
Amusement, entertainment and sports units for tourist
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Units providing cultural, adventure and wildlife experiences to tourist.
The
Department of Tourism under the Central Government is the nodal agency for
the formulation of national policies and programs and is assisted by the
Director-General of Tourism, with offices in India and abroad. The State
Directorates of Tourism are responsible for the publicizing and promoting
travel within India for domestic tourists. The Tourism Finance Corporation
of India has been set up to meet the loan requirements of the tourism
industry.
The
work in the industry essentially involves providing services like
boarding, lodging and travelling to people who are away from home, either
on business or on holiday. The two most important activities related to
the industry are therefore accommodation and travelling i.e. hotel
industry and travel trade. The Hotel Industry has been discussed
separately. Under travel trade we would be looking at the major tasks or
duties performed by Travel Agents and Tour Operators.
Career
prospects in Travel and Tourism are extremely encouraging. The number of
international tourists has increased from 70 million in 1960 to 700
million by the year 2000. As per World Tourism Organisation estimates it
is going to hit 1.5 billion in the next 20 years. India share is abysmally
low at half percent. In 1999 India got 2.5 million international tourists
and this is expected to rise up to six million by 2010.Annualy the
industry earns Rs 14,000 crore in foreign exchange for the exchequer.
Education
Qualification:
Simple graduates, with the requisite personal
attributes can gain entry into this industry. However, with the growing
professionalism in every field including travel and tourism, aspirants for
a career in this field should take specialized training, so as to give
themselves an edge in the job market.
There are a number of good institutions, which
offer training courses in different aspects of travel and tourism. The
Indian Institute of Travel and Tourism Management (IITM) is one such
institute, which runs a 24-month diploma course in Tourism Management at
Gwalior. Graduates of not more than 28 years of age are eligible to enroll
in the course after qualifying the entrance exam. Other courses offered by
the institute include destination management, language courses, wildlife
tourism management etc. The IITM through its chapter at Delhi, Lucknow and
Thiruvananthapuram has been conducting management development programs.
The Delhi chapter of the institute also offers many short term courses
like Basic Course on Computer Application in Tourism and Travel Agency;
Basic Course on Air Travel Fares and Ticketing; Basic course in Airlines,
Travel Agency and Tour Operation Management and Foreign Language Courses.
Two year PG courses and one year PG Diploma (part time or correspondence) are available at various universities/institutes. Indira Gandhi National Open University conducts Bachelor in Tourism Studies through distance education for 10+2 pass. Jamia Millia Islamia Delhi offers two-year PG diploma program in Cultural Heritage and Tourism. Number of Universities like Delhi University offers tourism as a subject.