G20 tourism working group, tourism ministers' meet in Goa on June 19

The concluding and fourth meeting of the G20 tourism working group and tourism ministers' meeting will begin in Goa on Monday.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, V Vidyavathi, secretary of the Union tourism ministry, said the working group will pass the Goa roadmap for tourism as a vehicle for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). The ministers' meeting will have G20 tourism ministers' declaration, she said.

The ministry of tourism has made positive progress on finalising the two key deliverables of the tourism working group, the official said. Three meetings of the working group have already been held in the past, she said. The meeting in Goa will be held from June 19 to 22. Under India's G20 tourism track, the tourism working group is working on five interconnected priority areas of green tourism, digitalisation, skills, tourism MSMEs and destination management, Vidyavathi said. These priorities are key building blocks for accelerating the transition of the tourism sector and achieving the targets of the 2030 sustainable development goals, she said. There will also be side events to discuss issues such as cruise tourism, circular economy of plastic in tourism among others, she said.

The tourism ministry's additional secretary Rakesh Verma said the registration of 150 delegates from eight countries has been confirmed for the meeting.

There will be bilateral meetings during the event, including one between India and the US, he said. In the concluding meeting, G20 member nations, invited countries and international organisations will welcome and endorse the nearly finalised versions of both the documents Goa Roadmap and tourism ministers' declaration, the official said. The G20 working group meeting and tourism ministers meeting in Goa aims to strengthen economic growth, preserve cultural heritage, and promote sustainable development of the region, he said. The ministry of tourism is committed to create a lasting legacy from India's G20 presidency by harnessing the potential of tourism in achieving the SDGs, Verma said.