Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology (BCIHMCT) inaugurated the 9th India International Hotel, Travel and Tourism Research Conference (IIHTTRC) on February 15, 2019, supported by National Assessment & Accreditation Council, as well as Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi. The two-day conference was one of the most outstanding forum involving Hotel, Travel and Tourism Industry. The aim of this conference was to get industry managers, tourism and hospitality researchers together and to provide a platform, for deliberating on the current trends and issues associated with the travel and hospitality business.
The event commenced with the traditional lamp lighting ceremony in the presence of Chief Guest Achin Khanna, Managing Partner- Strategic Advisory HOTELiVATE; Dr. Nitin Malik, Joint Registrar, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University; Nisheeth Srivastava, Principal, Institute of Hotel Management, Kolkata; Dr. Jatashankar R. Tewari, Assistant Professor, School of Tourism & Hotel Management, Uttarakhand Open University; Dr. Sarah Hussain, Chairperson - IIHTTRC & Principal- BCIHMCT and Alok Aswal, Convener - IIHTTRC & Dean (Administration) - BCIHMCT alongside other dignitaries, trade media, paper presenters, faculty members and students.
Dr. Sarah Hussain, welcomed the guests citing “The real strength of the conference has been the inclusion of quality management for comprehensive coverage of scientific and social researches involving hospitality business and education,” and declared the conference open.
Achin Khanna, enlightened the gathering with qualitative and quantitative aspects for redefining hospitality. Apprising the intellectual crowd with Change - Innovation – Disruption, being the driving force of today’s business, he stated that, “We are in the business of space and time, where space is finite and time is infinite. There has to be a vibe of spontaneity to deliver customized experiences, to the millennial customers”.
Dr. Malik presented a keynote address on “Quality & sustainable education in the field of Tourism & Hospitality – Indian Scenario”. He emphasized on the fact that education encompasses the whole of the culture and understanding as well as incorporating cultural aspects is a vital step towards the future growth of the hospitality & tourism industry. He urged the students to be dynamic and imaginative for being worthy of progression in their career.
The “Indian Journal of Applied Hospitality & Tourism Research” Vol. 11, (ISSN 0975-4954) was unveiled by the dignitaries at the inaugural session. Selected quality articles, research papers and case studies that highlight the issues related to the theme in different aspects from academicians, practitioners and policymakers have been published in the annual Hospitality Management Journal, indexed with ISRA. Selected papers from the conference have also been published in an ISBN Book titled “Global Hospitality and Tourism Research: Innovations and Best Practices” no. 978-81-920850-8-1.
The 1st Technical Session titled “Hospitality Education and Managing Human Resources,” chaired by Nisheeth Srivastava & Dr. Jatashankar R. Tewari showcased the research papers on future prospects of hospitality education in PUNJAB, the changing scenario in hospitality education and the Concept of heritage tourism. The session also saw papers on Employee sensitivity and the Need to study various attributes to maintain work-life balance in the hospitality sector. Presenters deliberated on the need for Organizational support for women's career development as well as for social and physical security to enhance their career prospects.
The 2nd Technical Session titled “Issues & Challenges in Hospitality and Tourism,” chaired by Dr. Milind Singh discussed the Importance of ecotourism specifically in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The study on Wine Tourism and the one emphasizing the Need for contributions of tourism towards sustainability were the most dwelled upon researches, by the scholars. Detailed research on Importance of service quality in luxury trains like Palace-On-Wheels as well as Tourism & its growth in the region of Jammu, clicked the right notes & ignited the spark in the thought process of the participants.
A theme lunch was organized for the conference delegates by the Final year students of BCIHMCT, New Delhi, depicting “The Spring Season”. Students showcased their creative skills in making the theme memorable which was appreciated and applauded by the research scholars, session chair and other conference delegates.
Keynote on “Education through Training: Aligning Sustainable Development and Quality Enhancement in Hospitality and Tourism Sector” was presented by Prof. Parikshat Singh Manhas, Regional Director, CED; Director, School of Hospitality & Tourism Management (SHTM); Professor, The Business School (TBS); Coordinator - Global Understanding Course (GUC), University of Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir, India on February 16, 2019. He deliberated upon the challenges faced by the tourism and hospitality industry, emphasizing on competition, inconsistent level of knowledge, skills and capacity, challenge to make training interesting as well as uncoordinated tourism training. He suggested that “Workforce development systems can be conceived at the national, regional or sector-specific level and can be embedded within each stage of the educational system – from primary to secondary and tertiary level, enabling the tourism and hospitality sector to prosper”.
The 3rd Technical Session titled “Hospitality & Tourism Marketing” was chaired by Satvir Singh & Dr. Piyush Sharma. The researches discussed during the session paid attention to the Promotion of handicrafts in Patiala (Punjab), Relevance of Ayurveda as a marketing strategy for Kerala Tourism, Work-life balance in hospitality industry, Current scenario of hospitality education, and Entrepreneurship for economic growth in Nigeria as well as the Impact of globalization on the cuisine of Delhi.
The 4th Technical Session on “Food safety, Wellness & Trends”, focused on food safety and quality implications related to meat processing, Annapurna-a food security project in Hyderabad, Impact of performance appraisal, Healthy alternative for commercial food spreads & sauces and Preparation of mixed fruit & vegetable jam. The session chair, Dr. Paramita Suklabaidya guided on the various verticals for improving the research studies and appreciated the efforts made by the presenters in highlighting the various aspects of food.
The International Conference was well attended by around 70 academicians & research scholars. More than 300 student participants got benefitted from the discussions and deliberations made during the two-day mega event. IIHTTRC culminated with a valedictory function where the efforts of paper presenters and all the participants were acknowledged. Alok Aswal, thanked the guests for their presence in making the conference a grand success.
