Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 5: The School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (SHTM), University of Jammu, inaugurated a two-day national conference on “Tourism, Technology and Talent: Shaping Future-Ready Managers” here this morning.
The conference seeks to explore the evolving dynamics of tourism through the lenses of technology integration and talent development, with special focus on preparing future-ready tourism professionals.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Umesh Rai, Vice-Chancellor JU, highlighted the growing importance of a transdisciplinary approach in tourism education and research. Emphasizing the rich and diverse tourism potential of the Jammu region, he called for a coordinated effort among academia, industry, and policymakers to systematically identify and develop tourism resources across all districts.
The chief guest for the inaugural session, Prof K S Chandrasekar, Vice Chancellor, Cluster University of Jammu, highlighted the transformative role of technology-driven platforms such as Airbnb in reshaping access, choice, and service delivery.
Prof Nimit Chowdhary, Vice Chancellor, Rajasthan Technical University, who was the keynote speaker, noted the growing influence of Artificial Intelligence on nearly 80 per cent of tourism operations, along with trends such as mass customisation, data-driven insights, and experiential tourism, stressing the need for immersive experiences and local ownership of Jammu as a destination.
The guest of honour, Prof Parikshat Singh Manhas, Director, Consortium for Educational Communications, University Grants Commission, stressed the need for national technology and educational readiness to scale up tourism innovations.
Prof Alka Sharma, Dean, Faculty of Business Studies, highlighted the need for timely information, clear problem identification, innovative solutions, and how humans can effectively leverage technology to address emerging industry challenges.
Earlier, Prof Anil Gupta, Director, SHTM and Conference Convener, formally introduced the theme and agenda of the conference.
Prof Suvidha Khanna, Conference Secretary, presented the formal vote of thanks, while Dr Honeyka Mahajan conducted the inaugural session.
Later during the day, Tourism Samanvay Samavesh, a policy–academia–industry interface panel was organised, where distinguished regional industry experts deliberated on the innovations and opportunities of tourism in Jammu Prominent speakers included Aijaz Qaiser Malik, Joint Director Tourism; Rakesh Wazir, Kulbhushan Khajuria, CEO, Rajouri Development Authority; Babu Tandon, CEO Bani Basholi, Surinsar; RJ Juhie, Sahil Sharma, Monika Mitter, Neetu Dhar, Nidhi Verma, Ompal Sambyal, Alankrit Mahajan, Shatabdi Bhogal. The panel was moderated by Vaibhav Sharma, Founder, Travel Dost.
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