Hospitality Industry is booming in India and there will be a dearth of qualified professionals in the field by 2010, said Head of the Department of Hotel operation at Welcome Group Graduate school of Hotel Administration in Manipal Prof Y G Tharakan.
Speaking after inaugurating the one-day seminar on ‘Food and tourism’ organised at Sarosh Institute of Hotel Administration here on Wednesday, he said that India is a sleeping giant in tourism and if the various kinds of food items are promoted along with certain destinations, the country has the potential to reach great heights in the industry.
He delivered a presentation on ‘Food and its impact on tourism’ analysing the role of food in tourism, the culinary tastes across the country, and the reason why India is lagging behind in tourism even with such a diversified food experience.
“If you can satisfy the five senses, you can satisfy a tourist,” he said and added that the cuisine of a place and the way it is served plays a major role in tourism. He stressed on the need to create an unforgettable experience in the tourist who will further become the ambassador for the place he has visited.
Speaking of tourism in France, the biggest earner in world tourism, Prof Tharakan said that it is the promotion of wine and the active involvement of tourist in its making that helped France achieve this goal.
Similarly the South East Asian countries and China promotes health food as a component of tourism.
The Yin-yang cuisines of China is nothing more than a gimmick and marketing technique, but it has earned the country the top 6 position in tourism revenue, he added.
However, India that has a 5000 year old history of food, a great tradition of hospitality, endless choice of food and a population of more than a billion is way behind even Dubai, which has a population of only 1.5 million, but good roads and clean spaces, Prof Tharakan concluded.
Principal of the college Prof Mathrani Mathias and convenor of the programme Mohammed Zulfikar and others were present on the occasion.
