Principal secretary of tourism, Government of Kerala has recently launched a book titled ‘An Introduction to the Business of Tourism’. The book offers a fresh perspective of the skill-oriented, knowledge-based and multi-disciplinary arena of the tourism business. Dr Shashi Tharoor, member of Parliament released the book along with former Union Tourism Secretary Rathi Vinay Jha, who served a stint as director general of the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), and Sage India’s managing director Vivek Mehra.
Co-authored by Dr Vijayakumar B, former principal, Kerala Institute of Travel and Tourism Studies (KITTS) and Saroop Roy B R, assistant professor, KITTS, the book presents a balanced mix of the basic principles and concepts, their application and policy implications as well as the business realities and operational aspects of the tourism industry.
During his address, Tharoor shared his insights on the tourism industry and how the book highlights some crucial aspects. He mentioned, “Tourism is a significant contributor to the Indian economy, but sadly 88 per cent of our tourism is purely domestic. Despite being an amazing job generator there is huge difference between India’s inbound numbers vs some international countries. Instead of ‘Make in India’ we should promote ‘Visit India’ to attract more international tourists. While I was absorbed by major chunks in the book, I wish it also highlighted the lack of infrastructural standards in our country.” He felt that the book will also help the industry professionals to learn more about the industry as it can serve as a guidebook.
Thanking Tharoor, Vasudevan took the stage and shared his idea behind creating the book. He stated, “Tourism as an industry welcomes everybody who does not have a formal education of the tourism industry. This book will not only help the graduates but also industry professionals to understand the business of tourism.”
Apart from elaborating on topics like destinations, attractions, marketing, and government bodies among many others the book also features some case studies to create better understanding of that particular subject.
