Aseesdeep Kour, Ranjeet Singh
Annually, on the 27th of September, individuals worldwide unite to commemorate World Tourism Day. The occasion serves as an opportunity for contemplation regarding the significance of travel in facilitating cultural interchange, promoting economic advancement, and fostering sustainable development. The theme of World Tourism Day, 2023 revolves around the crucial elements of investing in people, planet, and prosperity. This theme highlights the significance of directing our efforts towards these three fundamental pillars. By focusing on these aspects, we can pave the way for a sustainable and thriving future in the realm of tourism. In today’s rapidly evolving world, it is crucial to place tourism education at the forefront of our priorities. This approach not only ensures the promotion of sustainability but also lays the foundation for a thriving tourism industry. Beyond its economic benefits, tourism has the power to shape minds, foster cultural understanding, and ignite a passion for exploration.
The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir boasts of a multitude of tourist destinations renowned for their incomparable natural beauty. The tourism industry is seeing significant growth, with a notable increase in tourist arrivals over the past three decades. In 2022, there were a record-breaking 1.88 crore tourist arrivals. By the end of July 2023, Jammu and Kashmir has already welcomed 1.27 crore tourists, and it is anticipated that this figure will surpass the previous year’s record. Due to the government’s efforts, tourism is in revival mode, and the sector hopes for a brighter future. Despite the push, tourism in the region remains concentrated in a few pockets, and the spillover effect remains a distant dream.
Though administrative efforts such as the identification and transformation of 181 villages into tourist destinations and the ambitious plan of developing 300 new tourist hubs are underway, as of now, for these budding destinations, where tourism development is being planned and tourists are being attracted through fairs and festivals, however, tourism is far more than creating an infrastructure and advertising a destination; it requires meticulous planning and a thoughtful marketing strategy that preserves natural beauty, culture, and resources for future generations.
It is high time we recognize the multiplier effect of tourism and integrate it into our education system, ensuring that it becomes an integral part of imparting knowledge and skills. And in this equation one of the most critical elements is the utilization of a skilled workforce within the tourism sector. In relation to the emerging and prospective tourism sites in the region, it is noteworthy that despite the availability of competent professionals, there is a limited utilization of their expertise in the conceptualizing, planning, development, and implementation phases. In this context, the skilled professionals could act as stewards of the destination, ensuring that tourism remains a force for good, benefiting both the local community and the environment. Hence, it is essential to establish tourism as a compulsory discipline within both secondary and higher education, and utilize the professionals with background in the domain, thereby facilitating tourism development. Although the tourism is already introduced as a vocational subject at the secondary level, it is not being taught in the schools in its full functionality. The reason can be attributed to the lack of recruitment of teachers with a tourism background. Concomitantly, in higher education, though tourism as a major subject has been incorporated into the college curriculum of Kashmir Division, the colleges are currently delivering their coursework through academic arrangements.
Henceforth, there exists a substantial need for the hiring of permanent faculty in this field. It is also imperative for the Jammu Division to incorporate tourism as a prominent academic discipline in the colleges, which would effectively harness the capacities of tourism academia, enabling them to impart the tourism-related skills in the youth. Consequently, tourism department of Jammu and Kashmir should also recruit tourism professionals with relevant academic credentials and industrial experience to efficiently manage the operations. Their utilization of specialized knowledge in areas such as destination marketing, financial management, stakeholder engagement, sustainable tourism practices, customer service, data analysis, and crisis management is crucial for the purpose of fostering innovation, conducting evaluations, and enhancing operational efficiency. Thus, the recruitment of proficient individuals across different departments, including School Education, Higher Education, the Skill Development Department, and the Tourism Department, will address the skilled workforce crunch and ensure overall sustainability. Considering the previously described aspects, it is essential to consider the ensuing major conclusions.
(a) Tourism should be incorporated as a core subject in schools and colleges of the UT in order to equip our young minds with a comprehensive understanding of the industry, its dynamics, and potential.
(b) To actively involve both the industry and academia in the process of tourism development. For example, researchers conducting research in the field of tourism can contribute to capacity building and impact assessment studies
(c) To involve industrial professionals to the tourism advisory board which will ensure informed policy decisions as their firsthand experience and insights will be instrumental in shaping policies and strategies that drive the tourism sector forward.
(The authors are Research Scholars, School of Hospitality & Tourism Management (SHTM) University of Jammu)
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