Environment
Green Tourism, Skill Development Of Locals Dominate Talks At Second G20 TWR
The meeting is being attended by more than 130 participants, including delegates of G20 members, invitee countries and international organisations, industry partners, state tourism officials and local tour operators
Siliguri: Green tourism, skill development and livelihood opportunities for local communities, and role of MSMEs in the tourism sector were part of discussions held at the second G20 Tourism Working Group meeting here on Sunday (April 2). The meeting, being held in Darjeeling and Siliguri in West Bengal from April 1 to 3, is being attended by more than 130 participants, including delegates of G20 members, invitee countries and international organisations, industry partners, state tourism officials and local tour operators.
Also Read: India Bats For Equitable Healthcare Access In Its G20 Presidency
Several hours of discussions were held and now it is to see the hardwork getting translated on ground, a delegate from Germany said after the closed-door meeting. He told Press Trust of India (PTI),
A lot of discussion was held on Green tourism, skill development and livelihood opportunities for local communities which is important for all of us.
The delegate said a roadmap was also laid for the next meet in Goa. Another delegate said the main takeaway from the meeting was how Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) can play an important role in the tourism sector. Discussions were also held on how to overcome the impact of Covid on tourism and what measures have been taken by different countries to deal with it, according to another delegate.
In his opening remarks on the second day of the meeting, Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy said the vision of the conference is to project domestic tourism in mission mode. He said,
It will also make India maximise its potential in the tourism sector. The Union Ministry of Tourism has formulated a comprehensive tourism policy with holistic plans for sustainable and responsible growth of the tourism sector in the country.
Welcoming the delegates to Siliguri, Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs John Barla said West Bengal is the land from where India got its national anthem. Mr. Barla said,
West Bengal is a favourite destination for tourists from not only India but across the world, and hence, infrastructure development and promotion of tourism are going on in tandem to draw more globetrotters to this part of the country.
A side event focussing on adventure tourism was also held. Addressing the session, Reddy said the government is planning to launch two mega adventure tourism trails this year.
The ministry will work with states and industries for development of two adventure mega trails in 2023 — the Ganga trail and northwestern Himalayan trails..
A senior official said the government is starting with these two trails but will be launching more in the future.
There will be Narmada trail from Amarkantank to Arabian sea, Kaveri river trail, West Coast trail from Kutch to Kanyakumari, East Coast trail from West Bengal to Kanyakumari.
Speaking on the sidelines of the event, a senior tourism official said the government is coming out with a law for adventure tourism safety which will have provisions for constitution of state level safety bodies, penalties for violations and a requisite insurance scheme. The day started with a yoga session organised by the AYUSH ministry for the delegates from G20 member countries.
Later, a Himalayan Car Rally was flagged off by the Union tourism minister, accompanied by Minister Barla, MP Raju Bista, the tourism secretary and the foreign delegates.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.