Amity Institute of Travel and Tourism organized a Panel Discussion on the theme, “Technology & Sustainability in Tourism: Road ahead for Viksit Bharat @2047”, on the occasion of National Tourism Day. The esteemed Panelists included Mr. Dheeraj Ranjan Kumarr, Founder & CEO, Bali Trip Wisata, Mr. Sandeep Raturi, Business Head, Distinct Destinations, Delhi NCR, Mr. Soundar Rajan, Global Travel Entrepreneur, TEDx Speaker and Mr. Sinam Chinglen, Deputy General Manager-Affiliate Business, Partnership & Operation Management, Yatra Online Ltd.
Sharing his views on the role of technology in the tourism sector, Mr. Dheeraj Ranjan Kumarr, Founder & CEO, Bali Trip Wisata, stated, “There is no need to be scared of technology since it is not going to take away any jobs. However, one must be tech-savvy in order to survive in today’s tourism industry as everything is tech-driven and accuracy and numbers are easily analysed by the use of technology, making the process easy and seamless.”
Dwelling upon how sustainability can be achieved in tourism, Mr. Sandeep Raturi, Business Head, Distinct Destinations, Delhi NCR, averred, “If a place is overcrowded, a tourist is not able to enjoy the destination even if it is beautiful. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the travel agencies and service providers to inform the tourists about the number of tourists at the destination and suggest suitable alternative options so that they can explore other options. This will help in keeping the destinations cleaner and more sustainable.”
Sharing his advice on controlling the number of tourists at a particular destination, Mr. Soundar Rajan, Global Travel Entrepreneur and TEDx Speaker, opined, “Lesser-known destinations must be promoted by the government so that people can visit unexplored places instead of the popular ones. This will help in curbing the influx of tourists which is very high at popular destinations, specially during the peak season.”
Responding to a question on entrepreneurship, he advised, “Students must not invest a lot of money if they want to become entrepreneurs. They can start their venture online and scale it up gradually, instead of investing a lot of money initially and then suffering huge losses.”
Deliberating upon on how technology can be used to achieve sustainability, Mr. Sinam Chinglen, Deputy General Manager, Yatra Online Ltd., noted, “AI can be used to predict the number of tourists expected at a particular destination and travel agents can suggest new, unexplored destination to the tourists. This will help in promotion of unexplored destination and avoid overcrowding. “
Prof (Dr) Balvinder Shukla, Vice Chancellor, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, said, “Post the pandemic tourism industry has bounced back and is doing extremely well. The number of tourists traveling to various destinations has increased, people are spending more money on tourism and want to explore new places. Customer service is very important in the tourism sector and many services today are tech-driven. Therefore, it is important to upgrade your skills and become tech-savvy in order to have a bright career in this sector. “
Highlighting the significance of the Programme, Prof. (Dr.) M. Sajnani, Dean Faculty of Hospitality & Tourism, said, “Technology is driving every sector of the economy and tourism is not far behind. Since the year 2010, almost 600 billion dollars have been spent on AI, innovation and technology in tourism sector. The two most important pillars of tourism are technology and sustainability. Tourism is very popular amongst Gen Z since they love traveling and a lot of new career opportunities in this sector, have emerged for the youth. Today, technology is being used in tourism in the form of chatbots, online travel portals, online bookings and virtual tour of destinations. Sustainable tourism is very important, and the rich heritage of our country can only be preserved through responsible and sustainable tourism. Tourists must ensure that they follow eco-friendly practices, keep the places clean and do not cause any damage to the destinations. “
On this occasion, an Inter-Institutional Quiz Competition was also organized wherein 28 teams from Amity Institute of Travel and Tourism participated with great enthusiasm.