Minister of State for Education, Technical Education, Culture and Tourism Priya Sethi today said growth of tourism industry can be accelerated only by embracing entrepreneurship and technological advancements.The Minister said this after inaugurating 5th International Conference on “Sustainable Destination Excellence” under the theme of Transforming Social Communities through Tourism Entrepreneurship at Brigadier Rajinder Singh Auditorium at University of Jammu here. The Conference was organized by School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (SHTM), University of Jammu in collaboration with Tourism Department.She further said that these type of conferences/seminars provide a platform to various stakeholders including academic researchers and industry professionals to share their valuable experiences and ideas with each other for the benefit of the industry.“Tourism has become a powerful and transformative force which is making a genuine difference in the lives of people with regard to transforming social communities through entrepreneurship,” she said, adding the Conference is a unique opportunity to raise awareness on the contributions of sustainable tourism with regard to development among public and private sector for working together in making tourism a catalyst for positive change.
The Minister said that it is important to involve locals in tourism activities to motivate for protection of the natural resources and heritage.She said that the International Conference will become a massive event for industry and assured that the government would provide all possible help to explore opportunities for making the state incredible.She also said conference would encourage the small-time entrepreneurs who support needs of visitors and therefore benefit tourism revenue. She also invited everyone to join the mission of a making tourism industry a sustainable, responsible and a green industry.She said that Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has also taken initiatives in this regard by starting the schemes including ‘Startup India, Standup India’ and by providing financial help to the entrepreneurs for setting up their units in the country.Secretary Tourism Department, Sarmad Hafeez, Vice Chancellor, University of Jammu, R D Sharma, Dean Academic Affairs, Dean Faculty of Business Studies, Prof. Keshav Sharma, Director SHTM, Prof. Parikshat Singh Manhas, President, Asia Pacific Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education, Samir Thapa, CHE besides International and National, academicians, researchers, scholars, corporate executives, representatives of civil society and University faculty and students were present on the occasion.