The Inaugural session of the 4th Tourism Working Group Meeting

The Inaugural session of the 4th Tourism Working Group Meeting under G20 hosted by the Ministry of Tourism was held at Goa. The inaugural session was addressed by Union Minister for Tourism, Culture and DoNER Shri G.Kishan Reddy, Minister of State for Tourism Shri Ajay Bhatt; Minister of State for Tourism Shri Shripad Yesso Naik and Chief Minister of Goa Shri Pramod Sawant. Minister of Tourism in Goa Shri Rohan Khaunte graced the occasion.

Addressing the inaugural session Union Minister for Culture, Tourism, and DoNER Shri G.K Reddy said in the past few months, G20 Tourism Working Group Meetings were held under India’s Presidency and including the first meeting at Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, second at Siliguri, West Bengal, third meeting at Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir and had some insightful, thought provoking and positive discussions on different types of tourism products with experts, innovators, and leaders from, across the world.

He also added that a visit to India would be incomplete, without experiencing the beauty, greatness, and richness of our spiritual strength and diversity of different places in the country. He said “We are home to more than, 50 Shakti Peethas, where the divinity of women is worshipped. India is the birthplace of Sikhism and we have the Sikh Golden Temple, Amritsar, which is a symbol of brotherhood and equality.

He also said “India is the birthplace of Buddhism and Jainism and has around 80% Hindu population. The 200 large Buddhist monasteries across India remind us of the Buddhist principles of non-violence and the Jain philosophy of living in harmony with nature forms, the basis for the Government’s Mission LiFE – Lifestyle For Environment.”

Speaking about Prime Minister’s leadership he said: “Ensuring that rich heritage and civilizational strength gets due recognition, our government under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi ji, has been promoting tourism since 2014 and he is our very own Tourism Ambassador introducing, Indian tourism at a global level.”

He further remarked “Since ancient times, travelling to India was an avenue for finding oneself and India has always been a popular destination for travellers from all corners of the globe seeking Self-discovery. This has provided opportunities for people across 200 countries and varied faiths to experience India’s Culture and Spiritual Heritage.”

Shri G.K Reddy further informed that in India, in the spirit of our ancient philosophy of ‘Athithi Devo Bhava’ – where the guest is treated as divine, our foreign tourist arrivals after COVID 19 again have increased and Foreign Tourists during the period, January to April 2023 166% higher than arrivals registered during the last year same period in 2022. India is expected to recover its, inbound travel to pre-pandemic levels in 2023.

He further said that the final meeting will provide us with all, action points and recommendations for national and other governments, and other tourism stakeholders, to act upon to achieve, Sustainable Development Goals.

Union Minister also informed “Currently our Indian government has two priorities: Sustainable infrastructure creation, to cater to the growing needs of the tourists, and Raising awareness among the tourists, for responsible consumption and adoption of an environmentally conscious lifestyle and through the launch of the G20 Tourism and SDG Dashboard, a legacy has been created.

The dashboard being developed shall promote policies and initiatives by the G20 countries, and guest countries in building a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient sector.

He also appealed to that together and build a more diverse, resilient, and sustainable tourism sector for our future generations.