Jha delivers keynote at tourism conference in India

08 Sep 2016    

Dipra Jha, assistant professor of practice in Hospitality, Restaurant and Tourism Management, recently traveled to India to deliver a keynote presentation at the International Conference on Tourism, Hospitality and Aviation. The event was hosted by Amity University Sept. 2-3 in New Delhi, India and inaugurated by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, India’s Tourism Minister. More than 800 scholars, government officials, students and industry professionals from around the world attended the conference.

Jha’s presentation on “Creative Economy” argued that with millennials poised to become dominant consumers in travel and tourism, providers need to engage customers using Unique Creative Input (UCI) as the key differentiator. Citing examples like 21C Museum Hotels in the United States, which incorporates an art museum as part of their hotel design, Jha suggested convergence of creative processes, personalization and smart data would be the way forward for the industry.

"The Conference immensely benefitted from professor Dipra Jha's keynote presentation," commented Manohar Sajnani, conference chair and dean faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, Amity University and director, Amity Institute of Travel & Tourism. "It was enlightening for our students, faculty and industry guests, and we are glad Professor Jha was also able to chair a plenary session." 

With 10 campuses in India and another 13 overseas, Amity University enrolls more than 125,000 students. It is one of the largest non-profit education providers in India. Jha also attended a meeting and lunch hosted by Gurinder Singh, Amity University’s group vice chancellor during which potential for collaboration between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Amity were discussed. 

India is a priority country for UNL for international engagement. The university has partnerships with several Indian institutions, and faculty and students from a wide range of disciplines study abroad in India every year. Jha has previously led an education abroad program to India in 2013. He will be leading another interdisciplinary program with fifteen students in December 2016.

Tourism is Nebraska’s third largest earner of revenue from outside the state after agriculture and manufacturing, bringing in excess of $4.5 billion annually and supporting 46,000 jobs. According to the U.S. Travel Association, tax revenues generated by domestic and international travelers in Nebraska in 2014 totaled over $627 million. Hospitality, Restaurant and Tourism Management is one of the fastest growing majors at UNL and resides jointly in the College of Education and Human Sciences and the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.