Establishment of Department of Tourism & Hospitality

Establishment

Establishment of Department of Tourism & Hospitality in 2020 in Baltistan Region

INTRODUCTION

Department of Tourism & Hospitality Management University of Baltistan Established October 2019 with aims to cater to the growing demand for a well-educated and well-trained cadre of tourism professionals in Gilgit-Baltistan which represents Pakistan’s biggest attraction for international tourists& National travelers around the globe. Gilgit-Baltistan is home to mountains above five eight thousand (5)-8000M &one hundred twenty (122) Seven thousand peak and uncountable of six thousand meters, mountains including world’s second-highest K2, its vast glaciers, porous valleys, rivers, streams, lakes, orchards, and other gifts of outstanding natural and human cultural diversity offers tremendous potential to promote tourism as an industry and through tourism earn vital foreign exchange for development of GB and the country. The hospitality management & tourism department at UOBS will help develop a tourism-friendly business environment in Gilgit-Baltistan – located on the intersection of four great mountain ranges such as Himalayas, Karakorum, HindukushHindu Kush, and Pamir, and on the crossroad of the fabled silk route or Karakorum highway now being transformed as the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The proposed modules will help to care Baltistan Tourism interest in youth starting from Classes grade 10th to undergraduate between the Aga 20-35 for productive employment and engagements in the Hospitality management industry. The UOBS Department of hospitality Management will be building initiatives to design and improve hospitality management through academic excellence and skills enhancement exposure to cater to the emerging need of Gilgit Baltistan Tourism. The trained hospitality graduates will be actively placed in the Hotels & Tours Operators of the region for experiential learning. The proposed program will generate small-scale employment opportunities for the younger lot at their doorstep & the department will be able to produce the market demand skills to emerging young trained graduates in the hospitality & tourism market focusing on various tourism products and services. Gilgit-Baltistan rich with natural resources and tourism is the backbone of Gilgit Baltistan economy. As large as 70 percent of the population have a direct or indirect stake in the tourism business. The future UOBS tourism and hospitality management graduates will play a key role to lift the local economy and improve the quality of life, preserve the rich natural and human environment and through tourism will strive for achieving SDGs as well as generate revenue for the region and the country. The modules aim to start with short courses in tourism management which can be further developed to make a foundation for the curriculum development of intended future graduate programs. UOBS DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM GRADUATE PLACEMENT PARTNER. Department of Tourism may engage or seek the support of the GB Tourism Department, Serena Chain of Fort & Hotels, Local Hotel in Skardu, Shangri-La Resorts, Adventure tours operators, (Baltistan Association of Adventure Operators or BATO) Govt Rest houses. Partnership with organizations such as AKRSP or IFAD may explore reaching out and working with local communities through existing community organizations. Similarly, collaboration opportunities exist with country-level and international tourism organizations, academic and professional institutes. The course will also engage line departments related to the tourism industry including law enforcement agencies and district administration to inculcate tourism-friendly policy and practices. Module / Course Content With the proposed module students/participant will develop an in-depth understanding of both the front-end operations and back-end processes of the hospitality business through a combination of classroom learning and on-the-job training (internships) depending on the opportunities The graduates will be trained to develop contextual tourism-related dexterity in the context of GB. They will develop skills in managing tourism and hospitality organizations preparing them for salient features of business management with a special focus on adventure tourism / cultural tourism, airline reservation, Hotel Management, Restaurant management. Goals The department has the following general goals: 1. To educate and train students of tourism & hospitality, to increase professional capacity in the field/Industry. 2. Programs orientation /counseling sessions to entry-level for student Job placement 3. To enhance the educational standard by developing a Quality Assurance System. 4. Department will sign MOUs with business industry stakeholder base in the region by providing industry demand researched innovative ideas for small-medium enterprise projects.

VISION

 Department of Tourism & Hospitality Management aims to improve the quality of the marginalized communities of Gilgit Baltistan through quality tourism and creating an enabling environment for small-scale businesses connecting domestic and international trade & industry visitors.

 MISSION

 Department of Tourism & Hospitality, University of Baltistan, Skardu. To cater to the industry demand by producing, professionals, managers, supervisors, hoteliers, Tour Operators and above all the entrepreneurs for the tourism industry