More often than not, the variety and richness of
our lives’ journeys are in inverse proportion to our fears and prejudices. Prejudices
serve to bind us to preconceived notions and known opinions and blind us to the greater truth, while we remain content in our
limited knowledge. Sometimes misconceptions are also born out of the reluctance
of those who are considered ‘experts’ to elaborate and educate, preferring
narrow views to comprehensive ones.
When pressed for a case in point, the hospitality education scene in India
comes to the mind. The
hospitality industry is kaleidoscopic with countless hues, where each hue in
itself is multicolored. Yes, the hotel industry is the most striking and brightest brush
stroke in the painting that is the hospitality industry, but other shapes and colors are no less important in forming the complete picture, so to speak.
A stroll down the corridor of hospitality is the need of the hour
to get its deep insights, as it’s a Pandora box through which countless
opportunities tumble out. The USP of the industry is these opportunities know
no boundaries of segments.
Lodging
This is the jewel in the crown of hospitality. This is the
segment that generates the lion's share of the revenue. It includes hotels,
motels, inns and resorts. The job offerings can range from chefs, hotel
managers, inventory manager, chief customer service officer and much more.
Besides, sky is the limit for those with an entrepreneural bent of mind.
Food And Beverages
Over the last few years food and beverage segment has
thrived in the most unconventional way, particularly in the developing
countries. This is mostly due to the increasing social acceptance of it as a
respectable and potential career option. It has opened the whole new avenue of
jobs such as food criticism, wine tasting, brewery management, food technique
and considering the ever evolving and vibrant nature of the industry, it will
never cease to surprise us with its novelties.
Entertainment
Entertainment is something which is inseparable from
humanity. As hospitality mainly deals with the happiness quotient of people, inclusion
of entertainment was just a natural progression on the hospitality graph. It
has a lot to offer on the roadmap of entertainment. The increasing popularity
of the theme parks, clubs, gaming centers has also increased the need of
experts who understand that mindset of being happy and who can create the feel
good environment. Undeniably, all the entertainment hubs are like a nucleus of
opportunities for hospitality experts.
Tourism
As hospitality people are trained to have etiquettes and
communication principles which are extremely important while greeting people,
tourism has seamlessly fallen into its ambit. They find themselves perfectly
suitable as tour operators, travel/ transport agency manager. If stats to be
believed, there is a mountainous surge in the revenue generated by tourism across
the globe. Its visible domino effect is never-seen-kind of outpouring in the
job market.
These and many other sectors like event management, business
communication, corporate training and aviation are the potential territories
which can be explored by the hospitality connoisseurs. The reason of its
universal appeal and “fit to all” nature is, in essence, hospitality is the
relationship between the guest and the host. Whenever there is an interaction
between the client and host, the hospitality expert will be the first person to
rely on. It’s like a catalyst of panacea which every industry wants to have in
its soul. Indeed, it’s an elephant which cannot be caged in the four walls of
the hotel. Its horizon has transcended it long ago!
