The long-awaited historic event begins today at the highly secure venue of SKICC in the backdrop of great ambience. After a tradition rousing reception the guests from G20 countries got down to business straightway.
The third G20 tourism working group meeting, which begins today, has 122 delegates, including 60 foreigners.
On the first day, delegates from South Korea, Spain, Singapore, and Mauritius attended a side meeting on ‘Film Tourism for Economic Growth and Cultural Preservation,' which aimed at developing a national strategy on film tourism and providing a roadmap for harnessing the role of films in promoting tourist destinations, according to officials.
Discussions and deliberation ensued on the five key priority areas of Green Tourism, Digitalization, Skills, MSMEs, and Destination Management.
According to reports quoting officials, the majority of delegates are from Singapore, and the main event is scheduled to take place tomorrow (Tuesday) at SKICC, where a side event on ‘Film Tourism for Economic Growth and Cultural Preservation' was held.
According to the officials, a panel discussion aligned with Tourism Working Group's 5th priority highlighted the challenges associated with country-specific enablers adopted for promoting destinations through films, as well as the impact of film tourism on these destinations.
According to officials, the Srinagar meeting had the highest participation compared to the previous two tourism working group meetings in Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, and Siliguri, West Bengal. Singapore sent the most delegates, with five. On Tuesday, the delegates will attend the main tourism meeting at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) on Dal Lake. The venue has stalls set up to display Kashmiri art, craft, and culture.
Nonetheless, the current complex geopolitical and economic situation will make shaping the international response to multiple crises difficult for India and Modi. This is the first international meeting in Kashmir since the repeal of Article 370 and the division of the former state into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh – in August 2019.
During its tenure, India will hold over 200 meetings in 50 cities involving ministers, officials, and civil society, culminating in a major summit in the capital of New Delhi in September 2023.
India's narrative that Climate change, terrorism, and pandemics cannot be solved by fighting each other, but only by working together has been well received among G20 members.
Around 30 heads of state and government from G20 members and invited countries will attend the summit.
In outlining the country's approach to the G20, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for international cooperation to deal with global issues.
Political observers openly accept it is now the time for India to move from being a “rule-taker to a rule-maker.”
Though India has not invested much in multilateral rule-making institutions like the G20, it is never too late to start.
