Incredible India Tourist Facilitator Certification (IITFC) – a new model of online tourist facilitator course

Published on : Tuesday, April 13, 2021

The Incredible India Tourist Facilitator Certification (IITFC) (e-programme) is a new model of online tourist facilitator course for volunteers, launched recently by the Center. It is part of the Incredible India concept targeted toward promoting micro-tourism, i.e. tourism in the deep hinterlands of India, involving local masses, away from the conventional hot-spots that are saturated.

The aim of this programme is to prop up tourism in every area of India, as it takes pride in tourist attractions in every nook and corner, which often remains out of sight due to lack of sufficient information or facilities like safety, connectivity and access.

“They should be presented in front of the tourist. For this we require tourist facilitators everywhere,” said Alok Sharma, the Director of Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM).

The programme aspires to reach out to far off audiences encompassing a range of candidates right from an enthusiastic student to an ambitious homemaker eager to grasp tourist facilitation skills from the comfort of their home. Mr. Sharma added that Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel has taken a personal interest in promoting this concept. Sharma added that the Tourism Minister announced in Rajya Sabha that the results of the first online exam of IITFC were declared. The pass-outs would get 15-day training of communication seminars after which they would be able to facilitate tourists. This would be a mighty step towards changing the idea of the tourism industry involving locals.

“This would be of great service to domestic and foreign tourists both who want to unearth the hidden treasures of Indian culture and heritage,” said Rupinder Brar, ADG Tourism.

Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel is hopeful that this new concept will end the problems faced by both domestic and foreign tourists. He said that now tourists would be able to explore real India. It would also help in making the country self reliant. Mr. Patel added that in spite of the epidemic, the number of tourist facilitators is quite high and it would touch the target of 5,000 soon. With the end of the corona phase sooner or later, tourism is set to get better, as people, after the long period of crisis, will travel in large numbers to visit places and breathe in some fresh air to rejuvenate themselves.