A Knowledge Sharing Meet was organized by the Geography Programme under the School of Tribal Resource Management (STRM), KISS-DU, on 27th September 2023 to observe World Tourism Day. According to UNWTO, the theme of this year is “Tourism and Green Investments”. Faculty members, Research Scholars and Students of the School were present at this meeting.
United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which promotes responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. It firmly believes that tourism drives economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability. It provides leadership and support in advancing knowledge and tourism policy and is a source of tourism research and knowledge.
Dr. Arpana Premi Lina Oraon, Associate Professor, Geography Programme, STRM, welcomed all the participants. She introduced the theme and the importance of the day and shared her experiences. To infuse a deeper understanding of the significance of tourism, she presented some unique pictures during her Italy, Israel, Egypt and Palestine visits and shared her learnings from them. In her talk, she focused on the benefits of travel and tourism, and some of them included development, competitiveness, innovation, digital transformation, ethics, culture and social responsibilities.
Dr. Oraon’s deliberation was followed by a presentation session and the sharing of experiences by the students, including Santosh Kandamaka, Padmanava, Raju Urlaka, Premsing Majhi, Mandraj, Dhani Murmu and Bisra Mondal. The students spoke from the perspective of indigenous tourism and disseminated their innovative ideas to encourage tribal tourism. The main point highlighted by the students was to promote local indigenous products.
Dr. Oraon summarized all the points and encouraged the students to work in tourism. She also proposed a formal vote of thanks.
