NEW DELHI: The fourth and concluding meeting of the G20 Tourism Working Group will begin on Monday at Goa which will be followed by the Tourism Ministerial Meeting.
Interesting side events on cruise tourism have been planned on the first day with a focus on the theme 'Making Cruise Tourism a Model for Sustainable and Responsible Travel', which aims at discussing strategies to promote cruise tourism.
According to V. Vidyavathi, Secretary, Tourism, besides focussing on strategies to promote cruise tourism during the meet, the two key deliverables of the Tourism Working Group are GOA Roadmap for tourism as a vehicle for achieving sustainable development goals and G20 Tourism Ministers’ Declaration.
The Ministry of Tourism has made positive progress on finalizing the two key deliverables of the Tourism Working Group. The focus of the discussions at the working groups so far has remained Sustainable Tourism, she said. The last meeting was held in Srinagar between May22-24.
Along the sidelines of the main event on June 20, a national level side event is being organized which will focus on 'Making India a Hub for Cruise Tourism', to deliberate on various challenges and opportunities for developing Cruise Tourism in the country following the principles of sustainability. Multiple facets of Cruise Tourism (Coastal, Island, Regional and Yachting), perspectives from Coastal States, private and public stakeholders in inland waterways, perspectives from riverine states will be the focus areas of discussion during the event.
Goa is one the best-known global tourist destinations and is the perfect grand finale for the Tourism Working Group meeting of G20 said Vidyavathi on Sunday briefing about the upcoming meet. She said that Goa offers a host of experiences including beaches, heritage monuments, ecotourism, beautiful landscape, and rich culture and therefore is the best location to host the final meeting of tourism working group.
She also added, “Under India’s G20 Tourism Track, the Tourism Working Group is working on five inter-connected priority areas, which are Green Tourism, Digitalization, Skills, Tourism MSMEs, and Destination Management. These priorities are key building blocks for accelerating the transition of the tourism sector and achieving the targets for 2030 sustainable development goals (SDGs).” During the concluding meeting, G20 member countries, invited countries, and international organizations would welcome and endorse the nearly finalized versions of both the document, she said.
The event will see the participation of G20 member countries, invited countries, international organizations, and industry stakeholders. The event will also witness deliberations on the challenges and opportunities in the growth of cruise tourism globally.
She also added that focusing on the environment, a side event ‘Towards a circular economy of plastics in tourism – the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative’ in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is being held on June 19.
The side event will focus on encouraging engagement of tourism stakeholders to address plastic pollution through circular approaches across the tourism value chain. The event will encompass high-level introductory remarks and a keynote presentation on the action framework proposed by the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative (GTPI). These interventions will be followed by a panel discussion with tourism stakeholders and a signing ceremony to welcome the adherence of several organizations to the GTPI.