Date : 20th Feb 2013

Location: Skyline Business School, Gurgaon

Speaker: Mr.Amrish Sahgal-Management Consultant

The Skyline Business School held a seminar at Gurgaon Campus. The Objective of the seminar was to gives the students an overview of Tourism Industry. He started with how the concept of Tourism and Travelling has changed , earlier only wealthy people have always travelled to distant parts of the world, to see great buildings, works of art, learn new languages, experience new cultures, and to taste different cuisines also restrictions were equally involved like visa issues, terrorism , resources/capital which means one cannot spend more than a specific amount. But today the picture is completely different and travelling to places has become far more flexible and exciting. Also how over the decades, tourism has experienced continued growth and deepening ‎diversification to become one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world and modern tourism is closely also linked to development and encompasses a growing number ‎of new destinations which have turned tourism into a key driver for socio-‎economic progress. The business volume of tourism surpasses that of IT industry which was not known to us, it has become one of the major players in ‎international commerce, and represents at the same time one of the main income ‎sources for many developing countries.‎Got to know that the maximization of foreign exchange earnings has raised high in developing countries.

He further explained that tourism is a part of service industry which also includes transportation services, such as airlines, cruise ships, railways-luxury trains (Palace On Wheels); hospitality services, such as accommodations, including hotels, resorts, motels, timeshare; entertainment venues, such as amusement parks, casinos, shopping malls,venue”>music venues, and theatres.Also told us what the following means A tour operator typically combines tour and travel components to create a holiday. they prepare itinerary A travel agency is a private retailer or public service that provides tourism related services to the public on behalf of suppliers such as airlines,rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways, and package tours. Then there are Fam Trip (Familiarization Trips) a free or reduced-rate trip offered to travel professionals to acquaint them with what a destination, attraction or supplier has to offer. Incentive Travels a business tool used to change behavior to improve profit, cash flow,employee engagement and customer engagement.A package is prepared where nowadays events tickets are also included apart from accommodation , sightseeing transportation which helps in attracting more tourist to a destination.

Some remarkable happenings of the Tourism sector he shared with us like – Aircraft makers are coming up with cheaper/economic aircrafts ,in last two years many many International Hotel Chains have entered the Indian market, Indians who left India 40 years back coming back home to see the “New India” out of curiosity. He pointed out few other factors where India is lacking behind like-Inbound tourism has a greater need to grow there is a negative tourism inflow while Outbound Tourism is already booming and Domestic travelling is very huge. From a geographic viewpoint, there has been a rise in Asian tourists, particularly from China and East Asian countries.Among various types of tourism like Rural and Ethnic tourism, Cultural tourism, adventure holidays to name a few Pilgrimage tourism is far more than expected, it is no longer the same as old days – staying in dharamshalas concept has changed; trend says accommodation in 5 star properties is needed & good food is also required. Medical Tourism has also become very popular due to factors like the high cost of health care, long wait times for certain procedures, the ease and affordability of international travel, and improvements in both technology and standards of care in many countries. Also he advised the students what skills an individual should possess and to develop in order to make a career in Tourism field like Good communication, presentation skills ,an outgoing, friendly personality; ability to handle people, verbal fluency, aptitude for languages etc  He further added the Job prospects like in Tourism Department, Airlines, Cruises, Reservation and Counter staff, Sales and Marketing, Tour Escorts , Cargo Agencies , Operations, Front office, Food and Beverages, Accounting, Engineering/ Maintenance, Public relations , Events and Security. Overall it was a good knowledgeable session for students.

Skyline is the leading specialist from India, offering travel & tourism job oriented courses.

Compiled by – Anindita Duta , MBA L1S2 with assistance from Neha Wadhwa, Faculty Member