Bhubaneswar:7/7/21:IITTM Bhubaneswar had the privilege of organizing an international webinar on ” Culture and Tourism: Strategies for Development in the New Normal” on 6th July 2021. Distinguished panelists, Prof.ByomakeshTripathy, Vice-Chancellor. Utkal University of Culture, Chris Flynn, President & CEO, World Tourism Association for Culture and Heritage (WTACH), Sydney and Nigel Fell, Chief Commercial Officer.
World Tourism Association for Culture and Heritage (WTACH), London enriched the webinar with their insightful deliberations. Director, IITTM, Prof Alok Sharma who conceptualized the webinar, graced the occasion and welcomed the panelists. Dr.Adyasha Das, Associate Professor, and Coordinator of the programme, in her welcome address, elaborated on the Culture and Tourism web-talk series with its focus on critically examining the relationships, representations, conflicts, and possibilities that exist between tourism and culture in an increasingly complex global context. Dr.Md.S.Hussain introduced the theme of the webinar highlighting the language challenge, the social challenge of climate change, and the creation of future leaders. Chris Flynn gave an excellent presentation on the need for greater protection and preservation of the worlds’ Cultural Heritage through the development of responsible and sustainable tourism practices and policies. Nigel Fell elaboratedWTACH’sendeavour to ensure that the cultural values of the world’s communities are celebrated and preserved for generations to come.Prof.ByomakeshTripathy emphasized that both tangible and intangible cultural heritage needs attention and how it is imperative to invest in the tourism value chain. He urged for the rebuilding of destinations and adding new audience. Mrs.S.Pradhan, Assistant Professor, extended the vote of thanks. The event was attended by eminent academicians, researchers, tourism practitioners, culture and heritage enthusiasts, and students.