First Tourism Working Group meeting concludes

“The meeting was preceded by a side event on the evening of 7 February on the theme, ‘Rural Tourism for Community Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation’. At the panel discussion panelists gave presentations and held discussions highlighting the best practices, success stories, prospects, and issues in the field of Rural tourism,” said the Ministry of Tourism.

The inaugural session of the meeting was attended by the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Bhupendra Bhai Patel, Minister of Tourism, Culture and DoNER, G. Kishan Reddy and Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala.

“The Indian dignitaries shared their views on Indian tourist destinations, steps taken by government to promote tourism, safety of tourists, digitization in the tourism sector and the impact of tourism on the local economy and employment at the inaugural session,” the ministry added.

During the working group meeting, discussions were held on the Indian presidency identified five priority themes including Green Tourism: “Greening of tourism sector for a sustainable, responsible and resilient tourism sector”; Digitalization: “Harnessing the power of digitalization to promote competitiveness, inclusion and sustainability in tourism sector”; Skills: “Empowering youth with skills for jobs and entrepreneurship in tourism sector”; Tourism MSMEs: “Nurturing tourism MSMEs / Startups/ private sector to unleash innovation and dynamism in tourism sector” and Destination Management: “Rethinking the strategic management of destinations towards a holistic approach that delivers on the SDGs”.

All the 5 key priority areas set for the deliberations were endorsed by all G20 members, guest countries and international organizations.

“On the last day of the working group meeting, a second side event was organized on the theme, ‘Promotion of Archaeological Tourism: Discovering shared Cultural Heritage’. Speakers at the panel discussion shared their views on conservation of Archaeological sites and challenges faced at such sites,” the ministry said.

The panelists also highlighted the benefits of promoting archaeological tourism for empowerment and sustainable livelihoods of local communities.

“Going forward, the Tourism Working Group will reconvene for three more meetings including a ministerial which will take place in Goa. A ministerial level communique and the Goa Roadmap for tourism as vehicle for achieving Sustainable Development Goals are the planned deliverables,” the ministry added.

In addition to the four G20 meetings of G20 Tourism track, three mega events are also planned to promote tourism during the period of India’s G20 Presidency.

The Ministry of Tourism will be organizing the first Global Tourism Investors’ Summit (GTIS) in April/May in New Delhi; MICE Global Conference in May; and G20 Tourism CEO Forum in June.