India is a country of young population globally and India is home to a fifth of the world’s youth demography. The young population of the country offers a workforce as well as a market. The country’s youth is being encouraged to build a culture of innovation, entrepreneurship and diversity.
Tourism is one of the fastest growing service industries around the world, which is playing a major role in generating employment, boosting the economy, promoting cultural heritage and preserving the environment. A country like India, which has a demographic advantage, it is essential to educate and orient the young minds towards learning and exploration. Tourism offers a great opportunity to explore India’s rich cultural and natural heritage.

Vision

The vision of Yuva Tourism Club-Vallabh Government College, Mandi is to educate, nurture and develop young ambassadors of Indian Tourism, who would become aware of tourism possibilities in the local area, the state and the country. These young minds would develop interest & passion for tourism and understand and appreciate our rich cultural and natural heritage. Yuva tourism club is also expected to facilitate development of soft skills like teamwork, management, leadership besides encouraging adoption of responsible tourism and sustainable tourism.

Objectives

Yuva Tourism club of Vallabh Government College, Mandi is an important step in promoting responsible and sustainable tourism in local areas, state and country as it aims to educate citizens of tomorrow at educational levels. Tourism club would help in developing concerns for economic, social and environmental issues, which are crucial to reduce negative impacts and also help in developing the right culture among the youth of the area. The major objectives of the Yuva Tourism Club are to:

• Educate youth about diverse culture and natural geographies of the local area, the state and the country.
• Enable students to appreciate the importance of travel and tourism in education.
• Create awareness among youth about tourism opportunities at early stage and encourage them to be skilled professional and entrepreneurs in tourism sector.
• Ignite a passion for tourism and its value among youth.
• Sensitize youth to various elements of tourism.
• Encourage, teach and promote responsible tourism and sustainable tourism practices with the concern of SDG’s.

Activities of Yuva Tourism Club

• Participation in monthly events like essay writing, logo designing, quiz, drawing, painting, poster making, acting and debating etc. under topics and prompts involving Indian tourism.
• Arrangement of lectures/ talks by eminent scholars, experts and tourism stakeholders.
• Organization of tours and excursions to local destinations as part of a college group, in turn boosting the local economy to allow interactions with local communities and offer skills and ideas to better tourist experiences.
• Adoption of tourism hotspots near and around college areas and offer services through volunteering and idea generation in order to boost tourism potential of the same.
• Organization of student walk tours in the local area for exploring natural walks, biodiversity, heritage, local crafts, cuisines and experiences.
• Setting up of tourism stalls and exhibitions to promote tourists' experiences.
• Generation of awareness of ecotourism among the mass by the future generation will be a crucial step in establishing local areas as a ecotourism destination rather than the commercial mass tourism keeping in mind that surrounding areas of Mandi are biodiversity sensitive such as himalayan meadows, mountain passes etc. which are also emerging to be tourist hotspots.
• Undertaking project to promote and market the local area & its cultural as well as natural heritage.
• Involvement of students in adventure tourism activities like adventure camps, mountaineering courses and allied sports activities.
• Organization of social activities to promote tourism through volunteer work, awareness campaigns, cleanliness drives and workshops on community awareness.

Roles & Responsibilities of Yuva Tourism Club:

Teacher of Tourism Department Coordinator

The Teacher of Tourism Department will be the coordinator to spearhead activities for the Tourism Club in the college. He/she has to appoint the Student Body and assign specific roles within the body through a regular process followed every year. He/she must attend all the Student Body meetings and guide the discussion along with the members of the body.

Student Body

The governing body of the Tourism Club is the Student Body. The body may consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Executive Members. The number of Executive Members can be increased or decreased based on the number of student members in the club. The body is required to meet at least once a month and report on action taken at the next Yuva Tourism Club meeting. During its meetings, the body must review and approve the club’s plans and projects. The Teacher Coordinator advises and must attend all board meetings. Club members may also attend these meetings as observers. The members should think of project ideas, encourage club members to participate and delegate responsibilities. The student body needs to prepare an annual report that describes major actions with activities conducted over the past year. Yuva Tourism Club must maintain a file.

President

The President’s primary role is to lead the club, making sure that it functions effectively. Various duties of the president are enlisted as follows:

• Understanding the vision and objectives of the Tourism Club.
• Meeting with the student body to review the club’s records and discuss its current activities.
• Conducting effective meetings by preparing a detailed agenda that outlines what will be covered and for how long by allowing enough time for reports from other officers and grievances from members.
• Planning of creative programs for club meetings well in advance, arrange for speakers, panel discussions, trips, and entertainment that appeal to a wide range of interests.
• Delegation of responsibility to help other members develop their leadership skills and to avoid getting overwhelmed with details.
• Identification of member’s skills and interests and harness them in club projects.
• Work to ensure that the club’s activities and service projects are successfully promoted and carried out.
• Pay attention to membership growth and development and maintain a balance among age and gender groups.
• Communicate and collaborate actively with the college tourism (Tour & Travel) teacher (Coordinator).

Vice President

• Presiding at meetings in the absence of the president.
• Become thoroughly acquainted with the president’s duties so he /she can assist the president.
• Receive all materials and possible help from the past vice president of the club.
• Work with the club secretary and treasurer to ensure member roster and dues mailed by the appropriate dates and provide timely and interesting advance information for newsletters, social media and mailings.
• Work with the new vice president and help him/her prepare to execute job in next year.
• Plan, coordinate and recruit committees to manage a series of meetings and programs with the president and the student body.
• Provide data on previous club events to allow the event chair to benefit from past experience and suggestions for improvement.

Secretary

• Prepare in conjunction with the president, the agenda for club/society meetings.
• Ensure that all members are kept informed of dates, times and venues for meetings, giving proper notice.
• Take minutes of meetings and write up all minutes correctly and in good time.
• Report all important correspondence received to the meeting.
• Maintain a register of all members’ attendance at meetings.
• Deal with arrangements for visiting speakers/events.
• Help the club to run smoothly and effectively.
• Monitor club trends to help identify strengths and areas for improvement.
• Work with the incoming secretary to ensure smooth transition and understand the club's culture and the secretary’s role.

Treasurer

The treasurer of the body maintains accurate financial records. He / she should be a responsible person.

• Deposit all proceeds from fundraising projects.
• Handle the work of preparing and administering the budget.
• Prepare a monthly report that accurately details on money on hand at the beginning and end of the month, Income, with its source clearly indicated, Payments, indicating for What and to whom.

The treasurer has to prepare an end-of-year report summing up the activities and the budget spent on each of the activities, while sending a copy of the same to the college Management. The Outgoing treasurer should give the end-of-year report to club members and the incoming treasurer. All treasurers’ reports form part of the club’s permanent record.

Executive Members

Executive Members help the club carry out activities and projects. The college Teacher Coordinator appoints the Executive Members to be the single point of interaction between the student body, the conducting class and its working groups. Additional Executive Members may be appointed as needed. Executive Members should meet at least once a month to discuss plans and activities and share them with the President. All Executive Member activities and expenses are subject to the student body’s approval. They also have the primary responsibility to help the club function effectively.

Responsibilities of Yuva Tourism Club

1. Maintain all club records, such as:

• Membership.
• Attendance record of meetings.
• All-important club papers, budget documents, and reports.

2. Take minutes:

A clear, concise written record of what was said at a meeting and any actions taken at all meetings of the club. Minutes shouldn’t detail every word that was said or how the decisions were reached but should cover these points:

• Type of meeting (Student body or club meeting).
• Date, time, and place.
• Presiding officer.
• Attendance record of meetings.
• Approval and correction of last meeting’s minutes.
• Treasurer’s statement.
• Summary of reports from officers.
• Summary of reports from working groups in conducting class or classes.
• Announcements.

Operation of the Yuva Tourism Club

1. Compulsory Meetings:

• The Student Body has to meet at least once a month.
• The Members have to meet separately at least once a month with members from the conducting class or specific working groups in the conducting class.

2. Reporting:

• The student body may prepare an annual report that describes the major actions taken with activities conducted over the year.
• The treasurer needs to prepare an end-of-year report summing up the activities and the budget spent on each of the activities, while sending a copy of the same to the college Management.

Guidelines

1. Creating a safe environment for students

• Develop and enforce a youth protection policy, including guidelines for reporting allegations of discrimination, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, harassment, mistreatment to leaders and/or local law enforcement.
• Include emergency service and local medical information, as well as a 24-hour emergency district “hotline” number.
• Ensure adult supervision for meetings, field trips, activities, and projects.

2. Permission & Support of parents

• The Teacher Coordinator has the responsibility for the supervision and control of all programs and activities organized within the school that involve minors traveling outside their local community or overnight stays. The information must be communicated to parents and their permission sought.
• When students are traveling out of the state of home residence or out of the home country, it is a must to take the written permission/approval of parents and legal guardians of each student.

3. Membership & Fee

• The membership of ‘Yuva Tourism Club’ is open for all the students irrespective of their educational stream. However, membership is mandatory for tourism students of the college.
• There will be an annual membership fee for students at a rate of rupees 100 per student per year. However, any hike in membership fee may be decided by the student body in due consultation with the co-ordinator.
• The membership fee will be utilized for organizing tourism awareness activities at college levels, day excursions, tours, monthly & annual meetings and maintaining records of different activities organized or to be organized by ‘Yuva Tourism Club’.
• The membership fee, donation or any sponsorship received or collected must be deposited in a bank account to be opened in name of ‘Yuva Tourism Club’, VGC Mandi and expenditure record must be maintained on paper.