Subhash Motwani, director, Radio Bhuvan Career Supermarket (RBCS) group of institutes: IHCTM talks about travel education and the tourism industry as a whole. Neeti Mehra finds out what is in store

What changes do you anticipate in the industry in the coming years?
The travel and tourism industry will change quite drastically. Tour operators will have to reinvent themselves and look at newer avenues to expand their horizons, as a lot of non-travel related people are entering the sector, such as event management companies. They will have to look at the maximum value addition that they can give clients. The industry will have to adopt and accept these changes, and even modify their existing strategies to counter these changes. For instance, group travel will reduce drastically, and the FIT segment will see growth, the reasons being that even the first time traveller wants a different experience, and now the price difference between the two is marginal.

To survive in this scenario, what are the ideal qualities for a student to have?
Honesty and integrity are the two most important factors to make become successful in this field. Trust and confidentiality are integral qualities. For instance, an employee of a travel company should not share company ideas with another. Commitment and hard work are other key attributes, along with patience and communication skills. Soft skills are acquired both through training and experience in dealing with people. Plus, a constant need to update one's skills is required, else he will be redundant in the changing job scenario.

What are the job opportunities available for students?
The options and avenues are manifold. Earlier the options were narrowed down to just two - airline and travel agencies. Today, not only are these two options available to students, but also a wide spectrum of choices such as tourism boards, consulates, Visa Facilitiation Services (VFS) offices, cruise liners, etc. The options in related fields are immense, and within this industry, growth opportunities are also present.

The industry is seeing a high attrition rate at present. What can be done to tackle this?
The misconceptions prevalent are many. At the lower levels, employees are not paid very well, and other sectors such as BPOs offer higher salaries to freshers, who would otherwise require to undertake courses to be at par with them in respect of salary. Employers will have to rethink their approach if they want the crème de la crème in students, and have to raise the pay scales. A correct balance of job satisfaction, a little bit of socialising is necessary for growth, and the travel industry offers a good blend of this.

Companies will have to invest in its people. This, in turn, will improve the organisation's profitability, efficiency and productivity. It is important to show employees respect and keep them interested. For instance, if the top-level management of a travel company go for FAM trips, without giving an opportunity to the staff, it will lead to disillusionment. Youth today are very ambitious and there are many options available to distract them, thus it is important to keep them motivated and gain their loyalty.

Do you feel specialisation or generalisation will be the key to survive?
It is the age of specialisation. The travel industry is moving in a different direction. By 2007, e-ticketing will be mandatory and all airlines will have to implement it. Therefore, if one is merely equipped with ticketing and fares knowledge, he will be extinct. Plus we are moving towards a zero commission structure the world over. Thus creating a hue and cry over this without planning for the future will be detrimental for the survival of an agent. Students need to upgrade and equip themselves with the latest trends in the industry. Today, a traveller has access to much more information through the internet and his level of exposure is extremely high. So an agent needs to specialise on the destination, over and above bookish knowledge, which is accessible to all. Gone are the days when an agent would be a one-stop shop for the entire range of services. This is reflected in the scenario today, as many agencies are specialising in only certain destinations or in certain segments.

What courses does your institute offer?
The Institute of Hotel Cargo and Tourism Management (IHCTM) is the only center in the world authorised for seven IATA qualifications. Our institute has been in the field of vocational training since 1954.

We are offering a wide range of courses from IATA/UFTAA and IATA/ FIATA qualification, various diplomas and integrated courses. We are the only center in India authorised for four levels of IATA exams which is the IATA/UUFTA foundation, consultant, management and senior management, the latter two being the new programmes offered by the institute and deals with aspects going to be trends in the travel industry today and in the near future which has to do with special interest tours, MICE, technology, marketing and so on. In fact, we have a lot of people entering courses to get jobs at middle management levels or for growth in their careers, and they can pursue these courses simultaneously while working, and earn back a part of their course fees.

With so many institutes mushrooming around the country, what advice will you give to the students to select the right one?
There are approximately 70 per cent institutes over the country which impart suspect quality education Today, travel training institutes have franchises all over the country, but what is critical is that the quality and depth of training and knowledge application is not present. Expertise cannot be duplicated, and visiting faculty usually provide glamour, and just skim over the surface than impart value education. And with a single bad experience, students do not enrol themselves in another institute, if they drop out, finding the training unsatisfactory. Some institutes function with the sole objective of making money and compromise on training quality.

Feedback from the industry regarding institutes is critical and students should carefully research on the background and the faculty, and then arrive at a decision after speaking to the alumni and industry sources, and checking what courses are relevant and in-depth. Also, students are not aware of the wide spectrum of courses available in India. They will pursue a tourism course in Switzerland, when the same course is available in India at 1/10th of the cost, because of sheer lack of awareness. If one wants to go for higher studies abroad, they can complete their basic training in India and then go abroad for the second year training. Not only this, foreign students are coming to India to do IATA courses due to cost differentials and the high quality of training imparted.