Aaqib Khan
Srinagar, Sep 27 (KNS) : Director, Tourism Kashmir Sayed Qamar Sajjad on Sunday urged tourism stakeholders to upgrade their services, asserting that what matters most is the smile of the host and not the money a guest carries, while flagging concerns that Artificial Intelligence could reduce human intervention and employment in the sector.
Speaking at a function to mark World Tourism Day, Director Tourism as per news agency Kashmir News Service (KNS) said this year's theme centres on AI's intervention in the upgradation of services. "That means human intervention will decrease day by day. So, please listen carefully," he said.
Flagging the employment concern, he asked, If human intervention is less, how much will it affect our employment? He stressed the need to first understand what tourism means, stating that a tourist travelling to Mumbai, Chennai or anywhere else worries most about the safety of his family. Money doesn't matter to us tourists. Money is not a problem for tourists, he said.
Tourism Director said tourism is the only industry in the tertiary sector that provides employment to the maximum number of people, and urged all those associated with the sector to upgrade their services.
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"What matters is the smile of the host. The guest is not bothered about the money. They come with a pocket, they have a budget," he said, adding that tourists spend generously once given good service. He cautioned that fleecing visitors would only ensure they never speak well of the place again, nor recommend it to relatives, friends and close ones.
"There is no difficulty in admitting this, that we have to improve. We have to improve the services irrespective of the theme of World Tourism Day," Sajjad said.
On the government's strategy, he said the Department of Tourism had to implement it, bringing two things into focus. The national-level tourism tournament, which had been shifted to Golf, is now in its sixth edition and is being held in Gulmarg for the first time, he said.
"This is the beginning," he said, announcing that the tournament would be fully sponsored by the Department of Tourism and made part of the annual calendar. "On this date, next year, God willing, this tournament will be played again by us. And at that time, the prize money will also be kept."
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