Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today called upon the hospitality industry to fully leverage tourism potential to enhance India’s soft power globally.

Referring to the Indian concept of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’, the Vice President said that our culture, our cuisine and our welcoming attitude towards foreigners can help in attracting more visitors to India.

Paying tributes to Swami Vivekananda on the National Youth Day, the Vice President quoted Swamiji and urged the youth to emulate his qualities and follow the path shown by him.

Speaking at the Institute of Hotel Management (IHM), Goa, Naidu underlined the importance of the travel and tourism sector to the economy as one of the largest employment generators, employing 87.5 million people, equivalent to 12.75% of employment share in 2018-19.

While noting that the sector was the hardest hit by the pandemic, with decline in international arrivals and job losses, the Vice President expressed confidence that the slowdown will be temporary and the hospitality industry will bounce back.

In this regard, the Vice President saw promise in the fact that people will be eager to travel for pleasure once the situation returns to normalcy.

He suggested that our robust domestic tourism market could help soften the impact as compared to nations that solely relied on international tourists.

Naidu said that people’s eagerness to ‘travel local’ in the immediate post COVID-19 phase would offer a huge opportunity and advised the industry to tap this growing market well, aided by schemes like Swadesh Darshan and PRASAD.

The Vice President also urged the people to give preference to visiting local tourist destinations- starting with their neighbouring states.

Praising the immense natural and cultural beauty of India, Shri Naidu said that youth must visit the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari, Cellular Jail in Andaman and the Statue of Unity in Gujarat. Referring to the central government programme to promote domestic tourism, he said, “Bahar jaane se pehle, Dekho Apna Desh”.

Further, in order to restart tourism, Shri Naidu said that it was important for the hospitality industry to gain the confidence and trust of the tourists by following all health and safety protocols. In this connection, he referred to the compliance system of the tourism ministry, System for Assessment, Awareness and Training in Hospitality Industry (SAATHI) for COVID-19 safety and hygiene.

Naidu said that initiatives like SAATHI will assist in the preparedness of hotels to continue operations safely and restore the confidence of guests, besides enhancing the image of a hotel as a responsible hotel.

Interacting with the students, the Vice President said that a positive attitude and a smiling face can go a long way in achieving success in the hospitality sector. He encouraged the students to learn as many languages as possible to thrive well in that sector, without forgetting their mother tongue.

Naidu also shared anecdotes from his personal life, suggesting that an ambition to excel, with an attitude to work hard with discipline are crucial to achieve success. He advised that students must work with ‘pleasure’ and not under ‘pressure’.