Prof Anukriti Sharma highlights global career opportunities in tourism and hospitality, with a focus on heritage, sustainable tourism and youth entrepreneurship
Professor Anukriti Sharma, Head of the Department of Tourism and Hospitality at the University of Kota, has represented Rajasthan’s tourism education sector at an academic programme in Tajikistan, highlighting opportunities for international collaboration, skill development and employment in the tourism industry.
During her visit, Sharma delivered a guest lecture on “Career Opportunities in Travel and Tourism” to undergraduate statistics students at the Statistical College of Vahdat City in Tajikistan. The session focused on the potential of tourism and hospitality as career options and their contribution to economic development.
Presenting a roadmap for tourism education in Rajasthan, Sharma said India’s rich cultural heritage, historical monuments, spiritual traditions, natural diversity and hospitality offered significant opportunities to attract international visitors.
She also highlighted Rajasthan’s distinctive tourism assets, including its forts, palaces, folk traditions, handicrafts, traditional cuisine and desert landscapes, which contribute to the state’s identity on the global tourism map.
Sharma emphasised that tourism should not be viewed solely as a recreational activity but also as a driver of education, employment, entrepreneurship, local economic growth and cultural exchange
She identified digital marketing, modern technology, sustainable tourism and experience-based travel as areas that could create new opportunities for students and professionals. She also stressed the importance of developing academic and industry partnerships with other countries to strengthen tourism education and prepare young people for international careers.
According to Sharma, Rajasthan has considerable scope to expand heritage tourism, rural tourism, ecotourism, wellness tourism and cultural tourism. Realising this potential would require strategic planning, quality visitor facilities, trained professionals and effective international promotion.
She said tourism could play an important role in taking India’s and Rajasthan’s cultural identity to a wider global audience while creating avenues for innovation, employment and entrepreneurship among young people.
The academic engagement in Tajikistan provided an opportunity to present Rajasthan’s tourism education priorities to an international audience and underline the role of cross-border knowledge exchange in developing skills for the global tourism and hospitality industry.
