Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 26: Amit Sharma, Director Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Jammu, today delivered a key-note address to a house-full gathering of students, faculty, scholars and resource persons during ongoing three-day World Tourism Day celebrations at Main Campus of Central University of Jammu.
Explaining about technological interventions and fast-changing scenario viz-a-viz ever-growing tourism market of the World, he talked about various models especially SaaS (Software as a Service), which he said should be introduced with innovation in highly fluctuating and volatile tourism industry these days. Therefore, he added, youngsters bedded to maintain their focus and get involved in fair business practices so that there is least Government intervention and all private players act as messengers earning lot of goodwill and repetitive interest amongst tourists thronging into J&K.
Amit further explained that J&K has been bestowed with the blessings of Mata Vaishno Devi ji Shrine wherein almost one crore pilgrimage tourists visit every year and the young ignited minds in Tourism Sector must implement strategies to convert them into regular tourists and ensure that they extend their stay in our State so as to realize full tourism potential here and result into gains for the industry. “Some adjoining areas like Dudu Basantgarh, Moungri, Pancheri, Seoj Dhar Meadows offer enchanting virgin beauty wherein tourists can be diverted apart from visits world-famous tourist spots of the State with the introduction of heli-tourism, adventure-tourism, nature/eco-tourism, Home-Stay models here,” he said.
Amit Sharma further cautioned unruly elements in Tourism Industry against malpractices such as duping and harassing innocent tourists by selling fake products and services and offering costly packages. He mentioned that soon, a joint strategy shall be devised in collaboration with Tourism Directorate for surprise market checking and eliminating such elements who result into draining out of tourists from J&K and earn bad name for the State.
A quality Q&A session followed the keynote address by Amit Sharma. Other
Resource persons, who gave valuable contributions, included Sanjay Jena, CEO Tourist Mart and Abhishek Gupta, a third-generation tourism business expert from the State.