February 12, 2015 – Rajindera Kumar, Director of Vivanta By Taj Ambassador, New Delhi, and former President of the Federation of Hotels and Restaurant Associations of India, as well as the North India Association, has asked students and scholars of the hospitality and tourism industry, to have a strategy for career development and to act on it so that they can achieve their goals.
The veteran hotelier was speaking as chief guest at the 5th India International Hotel, Travel and Tourism Research Conference in New Delhi on February 11, organized by the Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology.
Rajindera Kumar, who is a respected and popular industry figure, suggested that the participants from many parts of the country, should not opt for a five-star hotel property, as they would have to follow the dotted line and may not be able to contribute too much.
The Ambassador Director said that the researchers and students should go in for smaller, individual properties and aim to turn them around.
Prof. Fevzi Okumus, Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, and Professor at Rosen College, University of Central Florida, USA, in his keynote address said that research should help the industry. He traced the history of research over the years and noted that now expectations from the junior researchers are higher. He warned of a danger of disconnect between the academic world and the industry.
Inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary research would be more in focus, he said, adding that for being published in top journals, the students must improve the quality of their research.
The three-day conference is being organized in collaboration with the New Zealand India Research Institute and the Victoria University of Wellington.
Among the topics being discussed at the conference are eco-tourism, green practices, the role of gastronomy as a resource for creative tourism, museums as an attraction, managing human resources in hospitality, the role of education institutes in tourism and hospitality, and food service. Scholars from various universities are presenting case studies at the conference.
Dr. Asad Mohsin, Associate Director of the New Zealand India Research Institute, will on February 13 speak on “Examining staff turnover in luxury hotels in India,” while Dr. Manohar Sajnani, Dean of the Amity Institute of Travel and Tourism, will speak on February 12 on emeging global trends, and opportunities and challenges in the travel and tourism sector.
