The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Official for collective efforts to take tourism to greater heights

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Sunday, Jun 08, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Official for collective efforts to take tourism to greater heights

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: M. Rajaram, Commissioner of Tourism and Managing Director of the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation, has urged the stakeholders in tourism, the hospitality industry and tourist guides to work together to make Tamil Nadu the top State in domestic and foreign tourist arrivals.

Inaugurating the two-day annual conference of the Tourist Guides’ Federation of South India here on Saturday, he said the tourism industry could achieve results, if only there were collective efforts, and the support of every related industry to create the right impression about tourist spots.

The Tourism Department and the TTDC had taken several initiatives, especially in heritage tourism, medical tourism, and rural tourism, under “Virundhinar Potrudhum,” a promotional campaign.

Pointing out that tourist guides were the “true ambassadors” for discerning tourists, Dr. Rajaram said the TTDC, together with the Anna Institute of Management, had embarked on a training programme to produce a new breed of guides. More than 150 persons had so far been trained, and the programme would continue. Retired government officers, teachers, and other service industry professionals expressed interest in working as local guides, and the Tourism Department was planning a training programme for them.

Iris V. Barry, a tourism training consultant and guide in Scotland, stressed the importance of instilling profession values in tourist guides. Updating their knowledge through quality training would help the guides set high standards.

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