World Tourism Day is celebrated each year on September 27th to increase public awareness of the need to make travel and tourism accessible to all. The main purpose for the observation of this day is to spread and foster awareness of travel and tourism. So, the Department of Marine Catering and Hotel Management, in collaboration with the Madurai Forum of Tour organizers (FOTO), jointly organized the seminar on “Rural and Community Centric Tourism” on 27.9.2022. A total of 258 students from various departments actively participated in this seminar. Mr. P. Mahendravel, Perrys Tour and Travelers Pvt Ltd, Madurai and Mr. A. R. Muthuraman, Holiday Hub, Madurai have shared their knowledge about the  functions of tour operators, the role of tourism in the Indian economy, responsibilities of tourism guides, opportunities and challenges in the tourism sector.  A speech competition was conducted for students on the same day. Totally 10 students actively participated in the competition. R. Ishwarya Prabha, B.Com Honours, third year student, won the first prize, and she got a free air ticket from Maduari to Chennai. This seminar motivated and encouraged the students, who had a memorable experience.