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Established in 1983, when the growth potential of the tourism sector in India wasn’t much talked about, the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM) was set up by the Government of India, to create a platform for young aspirants willing to enter the travel and tourism space. Initially created as a training platform for different stakeholders of the travel and tourism industry, like government officers and facilitators of tourism boards, etc, the institute has now evolved into a full-fledged management college. “The decision to turn this training centre into a government institution was taken in 1993 when the need for professionals who can provide quality products and services in sustainable management of tourism, travel and other allied sectors was felt,” states Dr Nimit Chowdhary, professor, IITTM, Noida. The main centre was in New Delhi which was later shifted to Gwalior. IITTM presently has five centres across India – Gwalior, Noida, Bhubhneshwar, Nellore and National School of Water Sports, Goa. “The idea was to have IITTM institutes in all five parts of India and except for the north-east, we have been able to achieve the same,” opines Dr Chowdhary.
Diversified approach
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Dr Nimit Chowdhary
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Initially IITTM started by designing curriculum of various government universities. At present IITTM offers seven post graduate management diploma courses from their five centres – tour and travel, international tour, and business and services sector programmes from Gwalior; travel and leisure from Noida; international business and tourism and travel from Bhubhneshwar; and tourism and cargo from Nellore.
“We still conduct training sessions but the reach of IITTM has grown massively. The main reason for IITTM presently being considered the best choice for various stakeholders of the travel industry is not only due to our affiliation to the government but because our faculty is directly in touch with the industry. This is possible due to the various training sessions we conduct and therefore we are able to impart practical knowledge rather than just bookish facts. In just one year the Noida IITTM has completed 54 training programmes all over India,” boasts Dr Chowdhary. Moreover, IITTM in collaboration with Thomas Cook also organises a trip with a learning objective wherein everything is designed to ensure maximum learning. Also different state boards come to give presentations, showcasing and explaining the importance of their products.
IITTM also provides training to tourist guides, one of the biggest sections of state tourism. “The state gets funding from the central government to train guides at the regional level and in order to become a licensed guide, one has to undergo a six-month training programme with us. Two refresher courses of 12 days after three years are also mandatory,” adds Dr Chowdhary.
Presently, IITTM has received requests to train undergraduates and graduates as heritage volunteers for ‘Virsasathi’, meaning ‘Virasat ke Saathi’ (heritage companion), not just for monuments but for cuisine walks, gardens, etc. “The main purpose of these walks is to showcase Delhi in all its glory. But this requires skill, as the volunteers need to take tourists and show them areas which even the people living here find hard to visit like Old Delhi areas,” believes Dr Chowdhary.
IITTM is not just an educational institution but also does research and consultancy projects for the government. “We had worked on the initial visa on arrival scheme, researching about how many tourists will arrive in India once it is implemented. We have conducted research projects on medical tourism and how visitors prioritise their visits to India, like Kashmir and Leh, etc,” reveals Dr Chowdhary.
Emphasising the need for a proper strategy to be implemented, Dr Chowdhary states, “Promoting Incredible India has been great so far but now there is a need to promote each state independently. People come here to experience the culture and heritage of India. Every country has a different feel like wellness, religious and spiritualism and that is what we can promote, because to catch up with the upkeep of monuments of other nations is going to be hard.”
Talking about the future trends, Dr Chowdhary believes, “Since the government is positively looking at the growth potential of tourism, it is bound to grow as it is one of the major contributors to GDP. Tourism is a great distributor and that is one of the main reasons why every government is promoting tourism. We can promote rural tourism like a rural bed and breakfast where one can stay and experience the rural lifestyle.” He even went on to highlighted the growth of outbound tourism in the country in present times. “For a long time, inbound tourism was considered the main business but times are changing, with 6.8 million inbound and around 11 million outbound tourists. This is why we are working on another programme, where students will work on selling outbound tourism products,” concludes Dr Chowdhary.
