The Chandigarh Administration is making a special endeavour to make Chandigarh as the ultimate tourist destination with host of infrastructural developments. However, the most crucial aspect for making a city into a brand, and into a ‘lovemark’ are the people who manage crucial services, and the residents. Since this requires a structured training framework, Chandigarh Chapter of Public Relations Society of India, launched its first pilot programme to train the city taxi drivers on January 25th – the National Tourism Day.

The program has been launched in association with the Chandigarh Tourism Department, and the Chandigarh Institute of Hotel Management (CIHM). The first batch of 12 taxi drivers received orientation for the important role they have as ‘ambassadors of the city’ towards the tourists that covered the areas of instilling a pride in their profession, upgrading their services, and soft skills including hygiene, cleanliness, etc.

The program was conducted by Mr. Man Mohan Singh, President, Tourism Promotion Society of Chandigarh, Ms. Renuka Salwan, Chairperson PRSI Chandigarh, Mr. Charanjit Singh, former national vice president PRSI, and the faculty of CIHM.

The objective is to reach out to every permit-holder taxi driver in the city and help them adopt world-class practices in handling tourists. Subsequently the program shall be extended for the porters at the airport and railway station, three-wheeler drivers, hotel staff, etc.

Each driver was given a list of the code of conduct, Rs.100 as incentive for attending the program, and a certificate of participation.

(Contributed by CJ Singh)

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