The first edition of Hindustan Times Tourism Conclave was organized at Hotel Hyatt Regency in New Delhi. The symposium was a congregation of industry stalwarts, visionaries and government representatives from a multitude of industry types, who came together on a common platform to discuss strategies and growth drivers that pose as milestones and measurable opportunities in the constantly evolving tourism landscape of India.
The conclave was graced by Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Hon’ble Minister of State for the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, who at the inaugural address stated, “It is important for the government and other stakeholders to create a positive environment and work towards mitigating the negative perception about the country’s tourism ecosystem.
The ministry is working tirelessly to include various stakeholders in the process of promoting tourism, creating greater levels of synergy and viability. He further stated that a good illustration of this is the case of the ‘Kumbh Mela’, the largest congregation on the planet, which has transformed its brand image adding greater public convenience and security for the discerning tourists and becoming a mega event attracting tourists from all across the world. India has a huge potential and a rich cultural heritage that can help promote tourism and become a catalyst of economic growth and employment generation. The need of the hour is for a collective trust, to improve connectivity and add convenience for the tourists, ultimately creating the right ambience for growth of tourism.”
Welcoming the guests, Mr. R. Sukumar, Editor-in-Chief, Hindustan Times said, “We are happy to host the first HT Tourism Conclave, which will be a stepping stone and a ready reckoner bolstering the tourism outlook of the country. The focus of the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is to unleash the true potential of Indian tourism, realigning the entire blueprint of the industry and transforming it into a tourism superpower.
The true measure of a country’s performance in many ways can be gauged from the country’s tourism infrastructure. In the present context we need to focus on both our inbound as well as our outbound tourism but also work towards promoting domestic tourism. We hope that this conclave will go a long way in aligning the various stakeholders’ part of the industry providing the right propulsion and opportunities to all aspects of tourism like eco-tourism, adventure, wildlife, cultural, shopping tourism, heritage and religious tourism.” Leaders and renowned guests engaged in discussions on various aspects that would govern the future of tourism industry in India and made an attempt at deciphering the future of Travel & Hospitality.
The various themes part of the day long discussions were on ‘The Potential of Heritage Tourism in India’, ‘Destination Tourism in India’, ‘Spiritual Travel, Holistic Healing & Wellness’, ‘Discover your Cities’, ‘Decoding Future of Online Travel – An Entrepreneur’s Perspective’, ‘Decoding The Future of Hospitality’ and ‘India – The Ultimate Destination for New Age Bollywood’.
