1st G-20 tourism meeting a hit

The first Tourism Working Group meeting under India’s G20 presidency was a huge success. The 5 key priority areas were endorsed by all member countries, invitee countries and international organisations.

TT Bureau

Under India’s G-20 Presidency Ministry of Tourism and Gujarat put its best foot forward at the 1st Tourism Working Group meeting, held at Rann of Kutch from 7-10 February. There were two side events held as part of this meeting. On Day-1, first side event was held before the working group meeting, with the theme ‘Rural Tourism for Community Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation’. At the inaugural session, Bhupendra Bhai Patel, CM of Gujarat; G. Kishan Reddy, Minister of Tourism, Culture and DONER; and Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, were in attendance. Indian dignitaries shared their views on Indian tourist destinations, steps taken by govt to promote tourism, safety of tourists, digitisation in the sector and impact of tourism on local economy and employment. The five priority themes identified by the Indian Presidency for the working group meeting include–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’ & Destination Management: ‘Rethinking the strategic management of destinations towards a holistic approach that delivers on the SDGs’. All 5 key priority areas set for the deliberations were endorsed by all G20 Members, Guest countries and international organisations.