2-day GNDU heritage fest begins

Amritsar, October 13

To mark World Tourism Day, a two-day tourism fest is being organised by the Department of Hotel Management and Tourism, Guru Nanak Dev University. The theme of the fest is “Rethinking tourism” which aims at developing tourism and preserving Indian heritage and culture by focusing on sustainability.

A plethora of activities such as cultural performances depicting various types of tourism, stall exhibits, talent show, flash mob, tambola and fun games were arranged by the department for visitors.

Prof Mandeep Kaur from the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management said the purpose of the festival is to promote tourism and maintain competitiveness of India as a tourist destination. “Amritsar is a tourism hotbed and hosts around one lakh tourists from domestic and international circuit on weekends. Rethinking tourism in terms of improving the tourists’ experience, better management of the impact of tourism on local businesses, heritage and cultural fabric and encouraging positive spillover effects on the wider economy are the need of the hour,” she said. Using tourism to generate job opportunities for locals is also one of the goals under which the department offered heritage walk tours for visitors and students.

This walk has been curated to make students aware of the 400-year-old transformation of Amritsar. “One has to understand that Amritsar’s development on grounds of heritage tourism can only be done if we preserve its heritage. Sustainable practices in the tourism industry might not get instant success, but will definitely get you constant growth,” said Dr Mandeep. The heritage walk tour covered the 12 katras, akharas, bungas, havelis and hatties, while also giving a brief history about the construction of the gates to fortify the area in city, which is now known as walled city.

The department will also host a live concert by Musafir Band on the closing day of the festival.