New Delhi: In order to bridge the wide gap between demand and supply of hotel management professionals in the country, the central government has decided to establish four new Indian Institute of Hotel Management across the country. These institutes would be sets up in states of Uttaranchal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Haryana.

Besides, the government has also decided to improve the infrastructure of existing hotel management institutes in the country by providing its charge to the Ministry of Tourism. The ministry would strengthen existing 22 hotel management institutes and infuse funds into them as has been done for institutes of IHMs in Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Delhi and Mumbai.

The ministry will also conduct 400 training programmes to 17000 participants for providing education and training in the area of tourism. Says a tourism ministry official, "This will lead to increase in better quality tourism manpower in the country. Students will be made to learn diverse Indian culture and spread it overseas through efficient marketing. Study tours will be conducted on wildlife, medicine and ayurveda, adventure and Buddhism".

In the past few years, the demand for hotel industry professionals has been on the upswing, both in private as well as the public sector. Industry sources pointed out that many students after graduating in hotel management from government institutes have been roped in by the five-star hotel chains.