G20 Tourism Working Group and Tourism Ministerial Meetings begins in Goa
By Puja Mishra
Goa,June 20 : The fourth Tourism Working Group meeting is being convened from June 19 – 20 in Goa. Whereas, the Tourism Ministers’ meeting will be taking place from June 21 – 22, 2023 in Goa. The G20 delegates received a warm and traditional welcome upon their arrival for the meeting.
A program was organized for the G20 delegates during the 4th Tourism Working Group meeting. The program included topics such as cruise tourism, the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, and important public-private sector initiatives.Representatives of G20 member countries, central government ministries, various state governments, and international organizations participated in the program during the meeting.
The first session on “Making Cruise Tourism a Model for Sustainable and Responsible Travel”, was addressed by the Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and Development of North Eastern Region G. Kishan Reddy in which he highlighted the huge growth potential of the Indian cruise industry. The event focused on strategies to promote cruise tourism.
During his address, Reddy said that “The Indian cruise industry has immense growth potential.” He said that “India is one of the potential cruise tourism destinations with a coastline of 7500 kms and a vast river system, where many of its best tourist destinations are yet to be revealed to the world.”
Reddy added,“Efforts are being made to reduce the carbon footprint of ships by focusing on environmental sustainability.” He also shared insights on charting the course for net zero carbon cruises by 2050.
Apart from the main event, a separate national-level program will be organized on ‘Making India the Hub of Cruise Tourism’ to deliberate on the various challenges and opportunities of the principle of sustainability for the development of cruise tourism in the country.
The event will have deliberations on the topics namely,Multiple aspects of cruise tourism (coastal, island, regional, and yachting), perspectives from coastal states, private and public stakeholders in inland waterways, and perspectives on riparian states.
A ‘Public-Private Dialogue: The Importance of Travel and Tourism for G-20 Economies’ will also be organized by the Ministry of Tourism in Goa on June 21 in collaboration with the Global Travel and Tourism Council and the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
Alongside this event, a special yoga session isalso being organized by the Government of Goa on the occasion of the ‘International Day of Yoga’ on 21st June for the delegates. This session will provide an engaging experience of Yoga to all the Tourism Ministers and delegates of G-20.
The G20 Tourism Working Group meeting and Tourism Ministerial meeting in Goa aim to strengthen economic growth, preserve cultural heritage and promote sustainable development of the region.
The first Tourism Working Group meeting was held in Rann of Kutch, Gujarat while the second meeting was held in Siliguri and the third Tourism Working Group meeting was held in Srinagar.
