Scope of Hotel Management in Agra, Uttar Pradesh

By Rohit Jain

Agra has unique strengths as a hub for tourism which showcase the requirement of skilled manpower in the hotel industry of the city.

Hospitality and Tourism industry is growing at a very fast rate in India with more and more international tourists now looking towards India as their favourite destination. Agra been most popular amongst international tourism attracts the most foot fall. Tourism not only develops understanding among the people but also provides jobs, create foreign exchange and raise living standards than any other economic force. India is famous in the world for the city of Taj Mahal-Agra. There are a number of other tourist’s attractions like Bharatpur Sanctuary, Sikandara, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Fort, Itmad-uddaula's tomb, etc which have equal historical and architectural.

Hotel Management is a glamorous profession which offers a bright future. Today Hotel Management in India has become a promising choice as the students in search of exciting job opportunities and career are opting for this course instead of traditional courses. The rapid growth and promotion of Tourism, Catering, Hotel sector has resulted in huge job prospects for Indians. The boom in the Hospitality industry (propelled by foreign & domestic tourism) has created the demand for well-trained quality personnel. This has not only led to mismatch in terms of hotel room supply and demand but also in terms of trained staff required to manage hotels. Whereas the demand is much higher than the current 1,14,000 hotel rooms across all categories, India is facing huge shortage of trained professionals in hotel.

Agra has unique strengths as a hub for tourism and craft manufacturing, and improving on experiences, livelihood opportunities, and green initiatives to improve citizen and tourist experience. Some such strengths are mentioned below:

Agra – Unique Strengths Highest foreign tourist footfall (nearly 11.5 lakh) in India Taj Mahal alone attracts 8-9 million domestic and foreign visitors Connected by India's fastest trains such as Gatimaan Express (Delhi to Agra in 100 minutes) Popular local craftsmanship in leather-ware, embroidery, zardosi weaving, jewelry making, and inlay work Largest shoe manufacturing hub in the country

All the above factors showcase the requirement of skilled manpower in Hotel industry but due to the shortage of hoteliers, the need of more hotel management institutes in Agra has increased.

Hotel Management programme enhances the student’s personality and groom them for a better future, which is respected and demanded by the complete service industry. Jobs for Hotel Management graduates are not content to Hotel Industry only but are also open in Cruise, Aviation, Event and all other industries in service department.

There are various Hotel Management Programmes which one can pursue in Agra:

• Diploma in Hotel Management
• International Certificate in Hotel Management
• Advance Diploma in Hotel Management
• BVoc degree in Hotel Management
• BSc in Hotel Management
• BBA in Tourism and Hospitality Management
• MBA in Tourism and Hotel Management
• MVoc in Tourism and Hospitality Management

The content in degree in Hotel Management at the graduation level remains the same but nomenclature differs from one university to another. Some promote the programme under technical education naming BSc, while others as BVoc skill based professional degree.

Eligibility:

One needs to be 12^th standard pass out from a recognized board of India to pursue either 1 year diploma or 3 years degree programme in Hotel Management. While Diploma is offered to students who already have graduation degree in other stream or looking for short term course only.

Career Opportunities:

After successful completion of the programme the students can join Hotels, Airline Catering and Cabin Services, Cruise, Travel & Tourism, Retail Sector, Teaching, etc.

With the burgeoning growth in the Hotel Industry in India, one can grow to a position of General Manager in 10 – 12 years in a midsize hotel. With 3-4 years of work experience, a lot of hoteliers get job offers from UK, Canada, Australia and the Middle East. With plenty of job options both at national and international level, Hotel Management programme stands as one of the most preferred career course after 12th standard.

Communication, patience, service attitude are few of the skills required in every hotelier.

To conclude, one can easily say that the opportunities are tremendous for students of Agra who aspire to pursue hotel management programme.

About the Author:

Rohit Jain is currently, heading the marketing and sales operations in UEI Global - Leading Hotel Management Institute of India with largest chain of Hotel Management institutes across the country.

Rohit has completed his MBA and Bachelors of Business Economics from Delhi University. He has over 10 years of experience in the Education Industry with respect to Strategy Planning, Marketing, Brand Management, Celebrity Endorsement and Media planning.

He has played a vital role as Advisor- Media Planning and Strategic Alliances for various Universities and Management Colleges. Renowned as a marketing professional, he has addressed more than 50,000 students for their career & life skills needs at various workshops and seminars.