First tourism working group G20 meeting at Rann of Kutch

Subject: International Relations

Concept:

For the first G20 Tourism Working Group meeting to be held in Rann of Kutch next week, India’s rural tourism and archaeological tourism potential will be projected to the world.
Participants in the 3-day meeting (which begins on February 7) include the United Nations’ World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Focus of the meeting:

Rural Tourism for Community Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation.
To improve Rural and Archaeological Tourism with suggestions from international boards and best practices.

India’s achievements in rural and archaeological tourism:

The Ladpura Khas village was nominated as the Best Rural Tourism Village by the UNWTO. In this village, the State government developed homestays in villages under the Responsible Tourism Mission of the State.
Nagaland’s Khonoma Village will present the model of Ecotourism Management Board that develops Rural Tourism Products and promotes responsible travel.
Dholavira – the southern centre of the Harappan Civilisation, was named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2021.
Dholavira is believed to have been occupied around 3500 BC (pre-Harappan) till around 1800 BC (late-Harappan period).
It is the fifth largest of eight major Harappan sites, including Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Ganeriwala, Rakhigarhi, Kalibangan, Rupnagar and Lothal.
Astrotourism
India will also present the innovative model of community based Astrotourism that involves rural homestays and community spaces.
Astrotourism is any kind of tourism that involves the night sky or visiting facilities related to astronomy like observatories.
These are completely run by villagers and provide travellers an integrated experience of stargazing along with cultural immersion in the Himalayas.

Next meetings:

The next tourism track meeting will be held in April in Siliguri/Darjeeling, while the third meeting will be held in May in one of the north Indian hill states, the final ministerial meeting will be held in Goa in June.
The idea is to cover and showcase the geographical expanse of the country – with Gujarat in the West to Siliguri in the North-East, going up till the northernmost regions.

United Nations World Tourism Organisation

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations Specialised Agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
It was established in 1975 with headquarters at Madrid, Spain.
UNWTO encourages the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, to maximize tourism’s socio-economic contribution while minimizing its possible negative impacts.
Its membership includes 160 Member States, 6 Associate Members and many Affiliate Members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities.