TravTalk India Online Magazine
Third International Conference on Enterprise and Entrepreneurialism, organised by Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi recently, witnesses newer research insights and best practices with viable solutions being presented on varied topics related to tourism and hospitality.
Nisha Verma
Jamia Millia Islamia recently organised the third International Conference on Enterprise and Entrepreneurialism in New Delhi from January 28 to January 30. The conference, supported by the Union Ministry of Tourism, comprised around 20 focused sessions on the industry, which included three plenary and five technical tracks of discussions, discourses, deliberations and workshops.
The event saw newer research insights and best practices with viable solutions being presented on varied topics related to tourism and hospitality, including Entrepreneurial Opportunities, Women as Entrepreneurs, Contemporary Issues and Innovation and Technology. The conference focused on offering the participants a unique opportunity to discuss, deliberate and interact, so that they can unveil facets of entrepreneurship in tourism and hospitality.
The Chief Guest at the valedictory session, Dr Venu Vasudevan, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Higher Education and Tourism, Government of Kerala, congratulated Jamia Millia Islamia for organising a comprehensive, well thought out and extremely relevant international conference.
He posited that there is a great need to encourage community involvement and women participation in entrepreneurial activities for a resilient recovery in the tourism and hospitality sector keeping in view the COVID-19 situation.
Other guests of honour included Prof. Syed Inayat Ali Zaidi, former Dean Faculty of Humanities and Languages, Jamia Millia Islamia. Zaidi outlined the traditional wisdom of Indian business communities as the bulwark of entrepreneurial zeal in India that weathered many great upheavals since historic times. Echoing the same thought, Anil K Rajput, Joint Secretary, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), shared the successful entrepreneurial models of distant, off the beaten track destinations and the need to replicate these.
The conference focused on public engagement and discourse on the issues of the revival and resilience of entrepreneurship amid COVID-19.
The online conference was attended by prominent authorities from the Ministry of Tourism, National Tourism Associations and Academia. From the tourism industry, there was Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO and Hon. Secretary of FAITH; Dr Madhu Chandok, President, Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (WICCI), Delhi Chapter and Sonia Singh, Co-Founder Nippon Taiyo Hospitality.
Padma Shri Prof. Najma Akhtar, Vice Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia, in her inaugural address, stressed upon the need for an active collaboration of the industry and the academia. She said that the university has always striven to bring out the best research and collaborative projects with the practitioners making it an institution at the forefront and aspiring evermore to deliver solutions even at the international level.
Dr Sarah Hussain, the Conference Chair and Head of Department, also addressed the delegates. Prof. SP Bansal, Hon. Vice Chancellor of the Central University of Himachal Pradesh, highlighted the paradigm shift that has taken place in the new normal with the new trends of staycations and other practices.
Vinod Zutshi, former Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, was the Guest of Honour. Dr Nusrat Yasmeen, Assistant Professor, DTHM, Jamia Millia Islamia, released the Book of Abstracts. Prof Parikshat Singh Manhas, Director, School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Faculty of Business Studies, University of Jammu, gave the keynote address. Prof. Nimit Chowdhary, DTHM, Jamia Millia Islamia gave the vote of thanks.
