G20 Tourism Working Group Meet in Srinagar: Spain, Singapore, Mauritius to discuss film tourism

New Delhi [India], May 22 (ANI): As Srinagar is decked up to host the third Tourism Working Group Meeting of G20 members on Monday, seven countries, including Spain, Singapore, and Mauritius are discussing film tourism in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.

Spain, Singapore, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Brazil and India are among seven countries to discuss the global perspective of film tourism, as well as, its economic benefits and impact in J-K.

The side event on ‘Film Tourism for Economic Growth and Cultural Preservation’ is part of the mega third Tourism Working Group Meeting to be organized at Srinagar between May 22-24.

Unveiling the draft of a national strategy for film tourism is the key agenda, and the speakers will highlight various challenges and country-specific enablers to promote destinations through films giving a fillip to tourism in J-K.

The “3rd G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting” will start in the afternoon on Monday with all the invited countries and the international organisations having the highest participation registered compared to the previous two such meetings organized at Gujarat’s Rann of Kutch and West Bengal’s Siliguri.

The meeting will deliberate on five key priority areas: Green Tourism, Digitalization, Skills, MSMEs and Destination Management.

The meeting aims to strengthen economic growth, preserve cultural heritage, and promote sustainable development of the region.

 The stage is set for discussions and deliberations on final deliverables and there are two key deliverables of the Tourism Working Group, which include the Goa Roadmap for Tourism as a vehicle for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) and G20 Tourism Ministers’ Declaration, Secretary Ministry of Tourism Arvind Singh had said on Sunday while addressing a press conference at Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC).

   “This is the only working group meeting taking place in Srinagar as part of the G20 effort with excellent response from all the member countries, all the invited countries and the international organisations, having the highest participation registered compared to the first two Tourism Working Group Meetings at Rann of Kutch and Siliguri,” said Singh.

   The officer further said G20 member countries, invited countries, and international organizations will give valuable inputs and feedback on these two draft documents and after negotiations with G20 Member Countries on these drafts, final versions will be placed in the ‘Fourth Tourism Working Group Meeting’.

   Singh informed that the ‘3rd Tourism Working Group Meeting’ will deliberate on the five key priority areas: Green Tourism, Digitalization, Skills, MSMEs and Destination Management. “These priorities are key building blocks for accelerating the transition of the tourism sector and achieving the targets for 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”

   The officer said that side event on ‘Film Tourism for Economic Growth and Cultural Preservation’ will be organized on May 22 and 23, focusing on strategies to promote film tourism in J-K.

   The event will witness the participation of G20 member countries, invited countries, international organizations, and industry stakeholders.

   Singh also said that a draft ‘National Strategy on Film Tourism’ will be unveiled to provide a roadmap for harnessing the role of films in promoting tourist destinations.

   Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Chief Coordinator G20, on Sunday, said that it is the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the message of India’s G20 Presidency is taken to the grassroots level through active “Jan Bhagidari.”

   Shringla appreciated the efforts of the Jammu and Kashmir Government to sensitize the people about the goals and purpose of G20 through multiple public activities.

   Chief Secretary Jammu and Kashmir, Arun Mehta had said, the change in J-K is evident on the ground with the arrival of the highest number of tourists (18.8 million) in 2022.

   “300 new tourist destinations will come up in Jammu and Kashmir seeing the influx of tourists with each destination providing enough to the tourists,” Mehta said.

   He further said the influx of the highest number of foreign tourists to Jammu and Kashmir is a healthy sign for tourism in the Union Territory.