The Hindu Business Line : Hygiene index for eateries planned

THE National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management (NITHM), a joint initiative of the State and Union Governments, is planning to rollout consultancy services in the niche areas of tourism and hospitality services.

This is part of the institute's plan to achieve self-sufficiency in the next five years.

"As it is, we are meeting nearly 30 per cent of the Rs 1.75-crore monthly expenditure. We will break even in five years," Prof. S.V. Narayanan, Director-General of NITHM, told Business Line.

"We have already bagged two consultancy assignments from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to develop evaluation parameters for eateries," he said.

The Andhra Pradesh Government awarded an Rs 7.5-lakh assignment to the institute in this regard. The institute had also submitted a proposal to the Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan Governments to carry out similar assignments.

The institute would develop parameters for assessing, evaluating and rating the eateries. This will be followed by standardising the rating scales and preparing implementable regulations.

"We would like to set up a NITHM benchmark for health-related parameters for eateries. We will develop an index as they do for rating star hotels," Mr Narayanan said.

The institute also bid for a Pondicherry Government project that sought to promote Thirunallar town, the only place with a temple for Saturn, as a tourist destination. The NITHM was among the three players shortlisted for the Rs 150-crore project.

"A temple town can also be promoted for other aspects," he said, citing the APTDC (Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation) experience in enhancing the tourism potential of Tirupati.

Mr C. Anjaneya Reddy, who used to head the APTDC, is the Chairman of the institute.

The NITHM also planned to set up a school of heritage, a five-year integrated MBA course in tourism and hospitality and a school of air safety and security.

"We would like to be a regional centre of excellence in the area of tourism and hospitality management education," he said.

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