A four-day meeting of the first Tourism Working Group (TWG) under India’s G20 presidency that was held at Rann of Kutch in Gujarat concluded Friday. An official release from the Press Information Bureau (PIB) stated, “The working group meeting was preceded by a side event on the evening of 7th February on the theme, ‘Rural Tourism for Community Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation’. At the panel discussion, panelists gave presentations and held discussions highlighting the best practices, success stories, prospects, and issues in the field of rural tourism.” “At a separate event, Miya Hussain Gulbeg, head of Dhordo village (sarpanch), highlighted the positive impact of the development of tourism infrastructure and tourism promotion activities like the Rann Utsav on the village economy and creation of job opportunities in the area,” it said. The inaugural session of the meeting was joined by Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, and Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala. During the working group meeting, focus was put on five priority themes — green tourism, digitalisation, skills, tourism MSMEs and destination management. The release stated, “All the five key priority areas set for the deliberations were endorsed by all G20 members, guest countries and international organisations.” On the last day of the working group meeting, a second side event was organised on the theme, “Promotion of Archaeological Tourism: Discovering shared Cultural Heritage”. “During their stay at Dhordo Tent City, the delegates had an opportunity to attend a yoga session at sunrise at White Rann. The delegates also visited the Harappan site of Dholavira, a UNESCO world heritage site where delegates were briefed about the effective and efficient water management at Dholavira. They also enthusiastically joined the folk artists. during a cultural evening,” the release added. The delegates also paid a visit to the Smriti Van Earthquake Memorial Museum in Bhuj that has been developed in memory of the victims of 2001 Kutch earthquake. The Tourism Working Group will reconvene for three more meetings, including a ministerial one to be held in Goa.
