The Centre will organise the country's first Global Tourism Summit in April as part of India's G-20 presidency, wherein all the member countries will participate, officials said on Tuesday.
CII is the industry partner for the event to be held on April 10-12, in New Delhi.
Ahead of the roadshow, Tourism Ministry officials from various northern region states, at an event in CII Northern Region Headquarters, emphasised how G20 will be the Centre's main area to establish India as a key tourism destination, during its year-long leadership.
Arun Srivastava, Deputy Director General, Publicity, Ministry of Tourism, said: "The summit is being organised to showcase various opportunities for investment and trade in the sector, especially in the hospitality sector. This will allow global visitors to explore Indian tourism products and services that will provide an opportunity to the local players to cater to the global demand and compete in this sector."
About the government's target for 2030, Srivastava said: "Pre-pandemic, foreign tourist arrivals in India touched 11 million and the forex generated was Rs 2 lakh crore, providing over 13 per cent direct and indirect jobs in the country. By 2030, we are aiming at a forex contribution to GDP of $56 billion that will generate 140 million jobs."
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Sumeet Sihag, Director, Industries, Chandigarh Administration, said that the growth objectives which can be achieved through tourism include employment generation, attracting private investments, preserving heritage, tradition and environment, diversifying tourism products into sports, entertainment and leisure activities, developing resources for hospitality, etc.
"Chandigarh has a significant potential in religious tourism, eco-tourism, and tourism driven by the IT and education sector," he said.
About various schemes offered by the government of Punjab, Gurkirat Kripal Singh, Secretary, Tourism and Cultural Affairs, said: "As the gateway to the nation for Central Asia, a lot of cultural exchange has happened in Punjab where a lot of events have taken place, of significant historical value.
The government of Punjab is embarking on a series of new initiatives to achieve the ends from the point of view of Punjab.
Of Punjab's upcoming initiatives, adventure tourism, water tourism and caravan tourism topped the list.
Rajiv Kaila, Chairman, CII Chandigarh, said: "Chandigarh must explore collaboration with neighbouring states to create integrated tourist circuits that will mutually benefit the tourism growth of destinations in both states.
In parallel, there will need to be a focus on creating new tourism products that are oriented towards promoting lifestyle tourism to make it appealing for all segments."
First G-20 IWG Meeting discusses financing 'Cities of Tomorrow'
With discussion on the flagship theme of "Financing Cities of Tomorrow- Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable", amongst others, the first G20 Infrastructure Working Group meeting under India's G-20 Presidency concluded on Tuesday.
Officials said that the meeting included discussions on various facets of making cities economic centres of growth, financing urban infrastructure, building future-ready urban infrastructure, the role of cities in meeting sustainability targets, directing fiscal investments for unlocking private financing for energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable infrastructure and mitigating social imbalances.
The meeting also discussed other important themes, such as exploring ways to collate the data on infrastructure spending and make the data useful for the private sector.
The meeting was attended 64 delegates from by 18 member countries, 8 guest countries and 8 international organisations. The G20 IWG discussed the 2023 Infrastructure Agenda under the Indian G20 Presidency.
On the side-lines, the Pune meeting was also complemented by a High-Level Workshop on "Financing of Cities of Tomorrow" wherein over 15 international experts discussed the issues related to financing of the cities.
The workshop discussed how the cities of tomorrow must tie together their key administrative functions - their planning, funding, and financing - to increase private sector participation.
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Divided into three inter-related sessions, the workshop focused on the infrastructure, and related technical and managerial capacity needed to build the Cities of Tomorrow. It also discussed how cities and higher governments could prepare themselves to increase private financing for Cities of Tomorrow, said officials.
During the IWG meeting, the delegates also had the opportunity to experience the rich cuisine, history, and culture of Pune. Overall, the delegates not only had productive meetings but also enjoyed the cultural experiences that Pune had to offer.
The second meeting of the Infrastructure Working Group is scheduled to be held in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on March 28 and 29.
