National Policy by Tourism Day?

G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Tourism, Culture and DoNER, says India’s tourism sector will greatly benefit from the G20 meetings organised across the country, and the much-awaited National Tourism Policy is likely to be released by World Tourism Day on 27 September 2023.

Nisha Verma

G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Tourism (MOT), Culture and DoNER, has claimed that the National Tourism Policy may see light of the day before the World Tourism Day on 27th September. When asked why it was not launched during the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, he shared that the policy was ready and the ministry would take a decison on the launch soon.

G20 success for tourism
The G20 2023 saw successful meetings for both Tourism Working Groups (TWG), as well as Culture Working Groups (CWG) across India. Reddy said G20 will give a big boost to Indian tourism. “The delegates who attended these G20 meetings were not ordinary people, but ministers of countries or HODs of ministerial departments, international organisation heads and stakeholders from around the world. Thus, form the point of view of G20, it is an opportunity for India and all meetings will impact tourism,” he said.

Unanimous support at G20
The G20 Leaders’ Summit in Delhi achieved a significant milestone–the unanimous endorsement of tourism and culture’s pivotal role in sustainable socio-economic development and prosperity. The ‘G20 Leaders Declaration’ adopted during the summit underlined the significance of the G20 Goa Roadmap. The Delhi Declaration provides a new direction for tourism sector with Goa roadmap outlining the challenges, objectives, opportunities and recommendations for tourism sector to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

SDG Dashboard
To create a legacy from India’s G20 Presidency, MOT has set up the G20 Tourism and SDGs Dashboard in partnership with United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which was also unveiled by Reddy virtually. He claimed that the dashboard is a testament to India’s commitment to sustainable tourism.