Rituparna Chatterjee – Mumbai
With an aim to cater to the growing demand for MBA in tourism among students interested in entering the travel space in India, India International Trade Center (IITC), a Mumbai-based vocational educational institute, is looking at introducing MBA in Tourism Management for a period of 16 to 19 months. The course, will cost anywhere between Rs 200,000 to Rs 225,000 and will come with an IATA certified course and an internship. The course might launch anytime this year. Speaking on this development, Vikrant S Urval, director, IITC stated, “We will probably be starting an MBA course in Tourism Management since there is a demand for the same among students. But we are not able to finalise it since we are trying to analyse whether there will be demand among the industry employers. We will try to market the product as an added advantage to the student’s career, but not in terms of boosting their salary.” Presently, the institute offers courses in International Airlines & Travel Management, Airline Cabin Crew Training, Hotel Management, International Air Cargo Management, Aviation & Tourism Management along with IATA training programmes – Foundation Level I, Consultant Level II and Cargo Introductory Course – and corporate training programmes.
Moreover, the institute is also opening two new centres, one at Sanpada, Mumbai in July followed by the other in Kolkata this year. Presently, IITC has eight centres in Mumbai, along with centres in Delhi, Ahmedabad and Pune. They also have 50 faculty members – a combination of full-time and visiting faculty – across all centres. Speaking on the challenges faced in the travel education space and the industry in general, Urval opined, “The quality of students entering the travel space is not up to the mark. Plus, the attrition rate is also high and hence the industry should focus on giving performance based incentives.”
