Mr, Narendra Modi The Prime Minister, of India, addressed the G20 Tourism Ministers’ Meet held in Goa via video message on June 21, 2023, from UN Headquarters New York, while he was attending the International Day of Yoga on the same day.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister invoked the spirit of Incredible India and said that the tourism ministers rarely get a chance to be tourists themselves even though they are handling a sector worth over two trillion dollars globally.
The Prime Minister said that India’s approach to tourism is based on the ancient Sanskrit verse ‘Atithi Devo Bhavah’ which means ‘Guest is God’. The Prime Minister informed that India during its G-20 presidency is organizing nearly 200 meetings in 100 different locations all over the country making every experience different from the other. “If you ask your friends who have already visited India for these meetings, I am sure that no two experiences will be alike”, he added.
The Prime Minister underlined that India’s efforts in the tourism sector are centered 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, the Prime Minister emphasized the development of spiritual tourism as one of the focus areas. He informed that the infrastructure upgrade in the eternal city of Varanasi, one of the major spiritual centers, led to a ten-fold increase in pilgrims taking the number to 70 million today. He also underlined that India is creating new tourist attractions and gave the example of the Statue of Unity, the tallest statue in the world, which attracted about 2.7 million tourists within a year of its inauguration. The Prime Minister expressed happiness that India is also recognizing the relevance of the tourism sector for the speedy achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.
“Terrorism divides but Tourism unites”, the Prime Minister remarked. He said that tourism has the potential to unite people from all walks of life thereby creating a harmonious society. Mr. Modi expressed happiness that a G20 Tourism dashboard is being developed in partnership with UNWTO which will be a first-of-its-kind platform bringing together best practices, case studies, and inspiring stories. The Prime Minister expressed confidence that the deliberations and the ‘Goa Roadmap’ would multiply the collective efforts to realize 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”, he added.
The Fourth Tourism Working Group meeting of G20 and the G20 Tourism Ministers’ meeting successfully concluded in Goa on June 21, 2023. The Ministers’ meeting was graced by Mr. G. Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for Tourism, Culture and DoNER Mr. Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State for Tourism, and Mr. Ajay Bhatt, Minister of State for Tourism. Ministers of G20 countries and delegates from G20 countries, invitee countries, and International organisations attended the meeting.
Addressing the Ministers’ meeting Mr. G. Kishan Reddy welcomed the Tourism Ministers and Heads of Delegations from G20 member countries, guest countries, and International Organizations.
The minister said that we are all aware of the immense significance of the G20 and its role in global governance. The G20 brings together the world’s leading economies to address key challenges and promote sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth, he added. Mr. Kishan Reddy further said that through our collective efforts, we can harness the power of tourism to accelerate progress toward the SDGs, ensuring that no one is left behind.
Highlighting the achievements of Tourism working group meetings, the minister informed that there were extensive discussions on the 5 priorities of Green Tourism, digitalization, Skills, Tourism MSMEs, and Destination Management. There were insightful presentations by G20 member countries, shedding light on their contributions to the five priority areas, he added.
He remarked that the Ministry of Tourism organized a series of events on the sidelines of the meetings of the Tourism Working Group. These events have been instrumental in promoting sustainable and diverse tourism in which various themes have been explored, such as Rural Tourism, Archaeological Tourism, Adventure Tourism, Film Tourism, Eco-Tourism, and Cruise Tourism.
The minister said that both the outcome documents of the G20 Working Group were welcomed. Speaking on Travel for LiFE, Mr. Kishan Reddy said that “Travel for LiFE,” incorporated in the GOA Roadmap is based on our Prime Minister’s visionary initiative ‘Mission LiFE,’ and urges individuals to act, to protect the environment against the effects of climate change. Travel for Life aims to nudge visitors and tourism businesses to adopt sustainable practices and contribute to the preservation of our natural and cultural heritage.
Union Minister Mr. G. Kishan Reddy welcomed the Goa Roadmap and said, “We welcome the ‘Goa Roadmap for Tourism as a vehicle for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals’ and reaffirms the pivotal role of the 5 key priority areas identified under India’s G20 Presidency for driving development, innovation, and cooperation in the tourism industry.”
In his concluding remarks, he said, “I am also delighted to share that a G20 Tourism and SDG online dashboard will be set up to showcase best practices and case studies of G20 members for achieving progress towards SDGs. This will help the stakeholders learn from the best practices and replicate them.”
“I would again like to emphasize that by leveraging the power of tourism, we can shape a better world for generations to come”, the minister concluded.
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4th Tourism Working Group Meeting under G20 was held in Goa
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