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Certainly, at this time, travel management and tourism are the most important topics for the new generation, not only in the country but in the entire world. The career horizon in this sector is sky high. The special thing is that not only students from cities and metros but also students from small villages who have a keen interest in travel management and tourism are moving forward for a career in this field. During various domestic and foreign tours in the country, I have experienced that students who dreamt of making travel management and tourism their career since childhood are also reaching great heights in this field , then they got good degrees and kept moving ahead. These days , youth can start working in the tourism sector as travel consultant , tourism manager , tourism relationship manager , inbound tour manager , tour executive , sales manager , outbound and domestic tour manager , travel counsellor , operations manager , travel booking executive , travel agent , tour guide and guest relation officer etc.

Increasing opportunities in the rapidly growing Indian tourism industry -

At present, India's tourism industry is seen growing rapidly on the world tourism map. According to the report of the World Travel and Tourism Council, India has become the country with the largest tourism economy in South Asia. India can be seen as the third largest economy in the world in terms of travel and tourism by 2028. According to the report, the business of travel and tourism sector in India is expected to reach around $ 480 billion by the year 2028. An allocation of Rs 1742 crore was made in the Union Budget 2023-24 for the development of infrastructure in the tourism sector. Also, a target has been set to earn $ 56 billion foreign exchange through the tourism industry by 2030.

With rising rankings in the tourism sector, new career opportunities in tourism

Certainly, while domestic tourism has increased rapidly due to historical religious tourist destinations in India, the number of foreign tourists in India is also increasing continuously after the successful organization of G20. Recently in May 2024 , the World Economic Forum has released the Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2024. India is ranked 39th in this index of 119 countries . Earlier in the TTDI Index 2019 , India was ranked much lower at 54th . In the new TTDI Index, India is included in the list of major renowned tourism countries on many important resource parameters related to tourism. India is ranked sixth on natural parameters , India is ranked 9th on travel parameters for cultural , business , medical and education . There are some other major tourism parameters in which India is emerging. Among these, India is ranked 18th in terms of price competitiveness , 26th in terms of competitiveness of air traffic and 25th in terms of land and port infrastructure . Analysis of this tourism index also shows that India has made progress on parameters like cleanliness , health , environmental sustainability , internet connectivity , and socio-economic impact of tourism. There is no doubt that domestic tourism in the country is growing rapidly and especially religious tourism is touching record heights.

New tourism policy will increase career opportunities

At present, the government is moving forward on the strategy of the new tourism policy. Also, on the basis of the new Tourism Index 2024 , some important things come to the fore , keeping in mind which India can increase the number of its domestic tourists. At the same time, by creating facilities and beauty like foreign destinations at domestic tourist destinations, domestic tourists who are fond of tourism abroad can be seen being attracted.

Career opportunities for the new generation are not just in the country but also in tourist-oriented countries across the world

It is noteworthy that the maximum number of foreign tourists in the world go to France , Spain , America , China and Italy. Apart from these major global tourism countries, countries like Singapore , Vietnam , Thailand , Indonesia , Hong Kong , Malaysia and United Arab Emirates (Dubai) are also far ahead of India in terms of attracting foreign tourists with some of their specialties. In such a situation, the situation is that even now less than two percent of the total foreign tourists of the world are coming to India. Although the tourism industry contributes about 6 percent to India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but only 8 crore people are employed in it directly or indirectly. But on the other hand, travel management and tourism are seen as the biggest industry and the biggest business in the whole world and the maximum career opportunities in the world are seen in this sector.

India has many such unique tourist destinations , which are seen giving a bright identity to various dimensions of tourism in the country. India's culture , music , handicrafts , food and natural beauty have always attracted domestic and foreign tourists. India is a country which has natural diversity like the largest part of the Himalayas , vast sea coastline and sand desert , white salt desert in Kutch , cold desert in Ladakh , tiger reserves in every corner of the country and sanctuaries and national parks including heritage sites identified by UNESCO. Coastal tourism , beach tourism and spiritual tourism sites in different parts of the country have maintained their well-known identity and have immense potential to attract all types of tourists. Apart from these, places of faith like Ramayana Circuit , Buddha Circuit , Krishna Circuit, Ram Temple in Ayodhya , Mahakal Lok in Ujjain and Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi can exceptionally attract the steps of religious tourists from the country and the world.

It is worth noting that at this time there is a competition among the tourism-oriented countries of the world and famous countries with tourist destinations in India's neighbourhood to attract Indian tourists. These countries have understood very well that due to the rapidly increasing purchasing power of the Indian middle class, their desire and interest in foreign travel has increased. While on the one hand the steps of foreign tourists are moving towards India at a slow pace , on the other hand the steps of Indian tourists are moving at a rapid pace for tourism abroad. On 4 December 2023 , the government told the Lok Sabha that the number of foreign tourists who visited India in the year 2022 was 85.9 lakh. According to the Reserve Bank report published on 23 May 2024 , Indians spent 17 billion dollars i.e. about 1.41 lakh crore rupees on traveling abroad in the year 2023-24 , whereas before this, 13.6 billion dollars were spent on traveling abroad in the year 2022-23 . At present Indian tourists are ranked 10th in the world for foreign tourism , whereas by the year 2027 Indian tourists will be ranked fifth in the world for foreign tourism.

year 2047 till 1 The country's tourism economy will be worth trillions of dollars

There is no doubt that in the last decade, in line with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the comprehensive tourism infrastructure and other tourism facilities have been shaped with new global tourism thinking to improve the experience of domestic tourists , religious tourists and foreign tourists. The tourism budget has been constantly increased. During the presidency of G- 20 in 2023 , India has also grabbed the unprecedented opportunity to promote India's unmatched tourism centers globally by taking the foreign delegates and foreign guests who came to India to participate in more than 200 different meetings of the G- 20 working group strategically in every corner of the country to visit the tourist places of India. In such a situation, we hope that India will be able to achieve the target of earning foreign exchange of $ 56 billion from foreign tourists by the year 2030 and will be seen being highlighted in the world as a tourism economy of one trillion dollars by the year 2047. Along with this, career opportunities under domestic tourism will also be seen increasing by leaps and bounds.

Various bright sectors of travel management and tourism and careers in them

Now there are many such bright spots in India , which are seen advancing various dimensions of travel management and tourism in the country. Various types of tourism are growing rapidly in the country , including coastal tourism , beach tourism , Himalayan tourism , adventure tourism , wildlife tourism , eco-tourism , heritage tourism, spiritual tourism, wedding venue tourism, sports tourism, religious tourism, cultural heritage tourism, yoga , Ayurveda and medical tourism etc. are growing rapidly . The speed at which these various tourism are growing in the country , at the same speed new bright career opportunities are being created in this sector.

Multifaceted opportunities in various fields of travel management and tourism

The travel management and tourism industry includes services such as government tourism departments , immigration and customs , travel agencies , airlines , tour operators , hotels , airlines , catering , guides , interpreters , tourism promotion and sales. Career opportunities are increasing in all these tourism related jobs.

Essential skills for a career in travel management and tourism sector

For the youth who want to make a career in the tourism sector , some special skills along with a degree or diploma related to this sector are necessary. Eloquence , sociability , interest in nature , archeology and travel , hard work , politeness , good computer knowledge , proficiency in Hindi , regional language and English , geographical knowledge , knowledge of foreign exchange are beneficial for a career in this sector.

Various courses related to career in travel management and tourism

To pursue Bachelor Degree Course , Certificate Course and Diploma Course in Tourism , it is necessary to pass 12th from any subject group . Apart from full time courses in the tourism industry, short term course options are also available. Bachelor courses are of three years and PG courses are of two years. Certificate and Diploma courses are also offered by many institutes. Some of the major courses related to tourism are as follows - Bachelor of Tourism Administration , Bachelor of Tourism Studies , Master of Business Administration in Tourism and Hospitality Management , MA in Tourism Management , one year short term diploma courses related to tourism are as follows - Airline Ticketing , Airline Ground Operations , Ground Support and Airport Management , Guiding and Scouting , Cargo Management , Airport Logistics Management etc. The minimum educational qualification for Tourism PG Diploma Course or PG level course is graduation. Students of any subject or stream can take admission in this course.

Where to do travel management and tourism course

There are many institutes in the government and private sector working in every corner of the country and state to offer courses in travel management and tourism. You can move ahead on the path of a good career by doing a suitable course in tourism from a good quality institute as per your suitability.

Dr. Jayantilal Bhandari ( Career Counselor) 111, Gumasta Nagar , Indore- 9 ( Phone- 0731 2482060, 2480090)