NEW DELHI: To educate and orient young citizens towards tourism and cultural heritage, the Ministry of Tourism is planning a slew of activities for members of ‘Yuva Tourism Clubs’ which were set up in educational institutions including schools, colleges, and hotel management institutes. The first in the series will be lectures/workshops. The ministry is preparing a list of industry experts and stakeholders who address the students through YouTube.
“We will invite leaders who have made a mark in the field of tourism and industry experts. We want to catch them young. The first event will be dedicated to sustainability; sustainable and responsible tourism. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his monthly radio programme — Mann Ki Baat — has talked about sustainability on occasions,” said officials. A former chief executive officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog and G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant may be invited to speak at the first event on sustainability, officials added.
The concept of ‘Yuva Tourism Clubs’ was introduced in educational institutions with the strategic objective of creating interest, awareness, and a sense of responsibility towards natural and cultural heritage and tourism amongst students. At present, there are 30,000 clubs in schools, colleges and hotel management institutes.
“On average, each club has 100 members and even some of them are having more than 1,000 participants. With one Youtube live event, we can connect with more than three lakh students. The number is set to increase as the ministry has set a target of establishing another 20,000 ‘YUVA Tourism Club’ within three months. Besides nurturing and developing young ambassadors of Indian tourism, the idea is to teach them about sustainable and responsible tourism,” the officials said.
Awareness on heritage
The concept of ‘Yuva Tourism Clubs’ was introduced in educational institutions with the strategic objective of creating interest, awareness, and a sense of responsibility toward natural and cultural heritage and tourism among students