Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 13: Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University Rajouri organized a national webinar on `Covid-19: A Wake-up call for the survival and revival of the tourism industry’.
Prof Javed Musarrat, Vice Chancellor of the University, inaugurated the webinar. Speaking on the occasion, he stressed upon the need of robust policy making and much needed interventions for the survival and revival of the tourism industry.
Speaking at the webinar, Steve Borgia, Chairman & Managing director INDeco Hotels, said that post Covid-19 tourism will not be the same. He said that post Covid-19 tourism will travel deeper into rural India and highlighted the role of local communities in sustainable development of the tourism industry.
Mahmood Shah, Director Industries and Commerce, said that mass tourism will take time to revive and there is an opportunity to look at different segments which can bring some sort of life in the industry like adventure tourism and pilgrimage tourism.
Rakesh Wazir, President, Hotel & Restaurant Association of Katra, said that there will be a turn around in the tourism industry of Jammu and Kashmir if the stay of almost one crore pilgrims visiting Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine can be extended for a day.
Saurabh Ratan , CEO, Aquinas Hospitality highlighted three pronged policy- long term, medium term and short term. He said that the PPP model will help in bringing sustainability in the tourism industry.
Saleem Beg, Ex DG Tourism, said that Government intervention is critical for the survival of the tourism industry. Shamim Ahmed Shah, Secretary General, J&K Tourism Alliance, said the Government should extend MSME benefits to the tourism industry as well.
Anil Verma, Director Sales, Hilton, said that safety and flexibility are the two important aspects which a consumer will take into consideration while deciding his travel plan and choosing destinations.
Prof Iqbal Parwez, Dean Academic Affairs, said that BGSBU has been providing a platform to bring together the leaders from industry and academia for knowledge sharing and providing inputs for policy making.
A large number of participants, including students, scholars, faculty members and industry professionals participated in the webinar, which was organized by the Centre of Hospitality and Tourism and coordinated by Dr Danish Iqbal, Ahtisham Imtiyaz, Dr Rafiq Lone, Dr Mubashir Baba, Dr Insha and Ishtiaq.
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