NEW DELHI: Tourism has the potential to unite people and create a harmonious society, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. “It is said that terrorism divides but tourism unites. Indeed, tourism has the potential to unite people from all walks of life, creating a harmonious society. I hope that your deliberations and the ‘Goa Roadmap’ would multiply our collective efforts to realise tourism’s transformative power. The motto of India’s G20 Presidency, ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — One Earth, One Family, One Future’, can itself be a motto for global tourism,” Modi said, addressing the meeting of G20 tourism ministers held in Goa through a video message.
He also appreciated the efforts for creating a G20 dashboard on best industry practices. “I am happy to note that a G20 tourism dashboard is being developed in partnership with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation. It will bring together best practices, case studies and inspiring stories. It will be a first-of-its-kind platform and will be your enduring legacy,” he said.
The PM also invoked the spirit of ‘Incredible India’. He urged the dignitaries to take some time from their talks and explore the beauty and the spiritual side of Goa, since tourism ministers rarely get a chance to be tourists themselves though they handle a sector worth over two trillion dollars globally.
He said that India’s approach to tourism is based on the ancient Sanskrit verse ‘Atithi Devo Bhavah’ (Guest is God). The PM underlined that India’s efforts in the tourism sector are centred on preserving its rich heritage while creating a world-class infrastructure for tourism. Noting that India attracts pilgrims of every major religion of the world, he emphasized the development of spiritual tourism as one of the focus areas. He informed that the infrastructure upgrade in Varanasi has led to a tenfold increase in pilgrims, taking the number to 70 million today.
‘Tourism must benefit public & private sectors’
Union culture minister G Kishan Reddy on Wednesday said that tourism should become an investment magnet for both the private and public sectors and there is a need to innovate, explore new areas and craft new strategies towards this. Reddy, speaking at an event in Goa as part of the fourth G20 tourism working group meeting, said the private sector has a critical role to play in all the five priority areas of green tourism, digitalisation, skills, MSMEs and destinations.