EDII Joins Hands with Gujarat Tourism to Spread ‘Khushbu Gujarat Ki’
With a view to fill the gap of skilled manpower in rapidly growing tourism sector in Gujarat, EDII joined hands with Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL) to spread ‘Khushbu Gujarat Ki’ across the nation. An MOU was signed between TCGL and EDII on 19th February 2016 to conduct Skill Development Programmes for stake holders associated with the tourism sector in Gujarat. The institute aims to inculcate culture of entrepreneurship in the booming tourism sector.
Programme for Tour Operators/Travel Agents:
The institute conducted skill development programme for tour operators and travel agents. Total 100 existing and potential entrepreneurs received training from the institute. The 10-day program helped participants understand the nature of tour and travel business in Gujarat, market assessment and marketing strategies in tourism sector. It also emphasized on using online resources and managing tourism business digitally. The participants were given comprehensive details about schemes and assistance available from District Industries Center (DIC) and Banks for setting up tourism related business.
Mr. Prakash Solanki, Faculty-EDII said that, “Gujarat has immense potential to grow as a tourist destination. The program will help bring holistic change by fulfilling the need for professionally trained entrepreneurs in the tourism sector.”
The First Impression Makers:
First impression is the last impression and in most of the cases tourists have their first encounter with taxi or auto drivers as soon as they enter the city. Thus a ten-day training programme was held by the institute to train auto & taxi drivers to attend to tourists. Total 120 drivers participated in the programme. It focused on safe and defense driving. In addition to that, the participants were trained on how to receive the passengers, how to communicate with them, how to inform them about the tourist attractions of the city so that the tourists leave with positive impression of the city and state.
Participants Speak:
“I did not know that to establish tours and travels business, one needs permission from RTO. The workshop helped clear my doubts about tourism policy of Gujarat. Post workshop, I have good exposure to tours and travels industry in Gujarat.” – Hiren Gohil
“Study visit to Dakor was an enriching experience. I actually had practical experience of managing a tour. Apart from that, I also learned about loans, subsidies and financial assistance provided by the government. It will help me start my own business.” – Darshan Parmar