Kathmandu, Nov 8, 2020
PATA Student Chapters of India Christ University, Bangladesh Dhaka University and Nepal together successfully organized the "SPEAKERS CONCLAVE- Regional Collaboration: Rebuild & Reboot Tourism" on 6th and 7th of November, 2020. The 2-day event focused on the discussions in various aspects of regional collaboration for tourism recovery, providing the industry insights and knowledge amongst hospitality and tourism students/young tourism professionals from three neighbouring countries.
The event comprised of the following three sessions:
- The Trail to Cultivation: Discussion on Regional Tourism in South Asia Post COVID-19
It is the first session of the Speakers conclave organized to gain in-depth knowledge, insights and ideas from the Post-COVID19 perspective of tourism in the South-Asian region. The event witnessed the panel of distinguished speakers including Mr. Khem Raj Lakai- Hon. Treasurer and HCD Coordinator of PATA Nepal Chapter, Mr. Jatinder Taneja- Vice Chairman of PATA India Chapter, Mr. Amish Desai- Chairman of TAAI Karnataka, Mr. Mohiuddin Helal- CEO of Tourism & Hospitality Skills Council, Bangladesh and the Moderator Aletheia Tan- PATA Youth Ambassador.
Mr. Khem Raj Lakai highlighted the importance of soft skills and the need for developing human capitals in tourism. He also addressed the need to take sustainability into account every now and then before the damage being taken place.
Mr. Jatinder Taneja shed light on the significance of regional collaboration. He reminded that the tourist cancelled or postponed their combined package when they could not travel to Nepal during the 2015 earthquake in Nepal. He also emphasized on the regional visa like the Schengen visa in Europe to boost the tourism of the South Asian region.
Mr. Mohiuddin Helal said that tourism is the best tool for development in rural and isolated areas. He also shared his idea of coming up with the common interest products post-pandemic and briefed on how to fulfill the gap for the students to be an industry professional.
Mr. Amish Desai suggested the need for formalizing the industry by certification & accreditation along with the implementation of the uniform protocols and procedures in the region. He also assured the students that the recovery is near and clear ahead.
- The GI Thesaurus: Know Your Products
It is the second session of the event organized on the 7th of November 2020. The event was aimed to spread awareness about Geographical Indication (GI), the tag given to products from a specific location or region, which act as a kind of certification that the product possesses certain qualities and is made as per traditional methods. It beheld the panel of distinguished speakers including Mr. Deepak Raj Joshi- Coordinator of Tourism Recovery Task Force (TRTF)- Nepal and the former CEO of Nepal Tourism Board, Mr. Shahid Hussain Shamim- Chairperson of National Crafts Foundation of Bangladesh and Brahmanand Reddy- CEO, GI Trips India.
All the distinguished speakers in the panel had a valuable and in-depth discussion on how to spread the awareness of the GI tags to optimum utilization of its value and benefit in the tourism sector. The discussion also highlighted the importance of the youth's role in promoting GI products and how it can help them in the future of tourism.
- Networking Session: Talk over Tea
The event saw Mr. Khem Raj Lakai- Hon'ble Treasurer of PATA Nepal Chapter, Mr. Santosh Shrestha- Managing Director of Mars Advertising and Research along with the counterparts from India and Bangladesh Mr. Mohamed Farouk- Director of India Tourism, Mr. Puneet Singh Pesricha- Co-Founder of Singh Consultancy, Mr. Suraj Nair- Founder at TravelSpends, Mr. Jabed Ahmed, CEO, Bangladesh Tourism Board and Mr. Shahid Hamid FIH- Chairperson of PATA Bangladesh Chapter respectively gracing the occasion and interacting with students across the region.
The final session gave students a chance to be mentored by the above-mentioned Tourism and Hospitality industry professionals across the region. The young tourism industry aspirants gained a lot of value, insights, knowledge and suggestions from the mentors during the event. the enthusiastic participation (300+) received is an encouraging reminder of the way that tourism is always active industry and will rise again with the new and updated version.
The Speakers Conclave was a wonderful opportunity that facilitated the collaboration of three South Asian student chapters, which opened a door to much more collaborations in the days to come.
For more details, you may reach out to:
PATA Nepal Student Chapter - [email protected]
PATA India CHRIST University Student Chapter - [email protected]
PATA Bangladesh Dhaka University Student Chapter - [email protected]