NEW DELHI: The inaugural session of the fourth Tourism Working Group Meeting under India’s G20 presidency hosted by the Ministry of Tourism was held in Goa on Monday. The meeting will continue till June 22.
The inaugural session was addressed by Union Minister for Tourism, Culture and DoNER G Kishan Reddy, Minister of State for Tourism Ajay Bhatt; Minister of State for Tourism Shripad Yesso Naik and Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant.
Addressing the inaugural session, Minister Reddy said in the past few months, G20 Tourism Working Group Meetings were held under India’s Presidency. It includes the first meeting at Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, the second at Siliguri, West Bengal, the third meeting at Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir and had some insightful, thought-provoking and positive discussions on different types of tourism products with experts, innovators, and leaders from, across the world.
“We are home to more than, 50 Shakti Peethas, where the divinity of women is worshipped. India is the birthplace of Sikhism and we have the Sikh Golden Temple, Amritsar, which is a symbol of brotherhood and equality,” he said.
He further remarked “Since ancient times, travelling to India was an avenue for finding oneself and India has always been a popular destination for travellers from all corners of the globe seeking Self-discovery. This has provided opportunities for people across 200 countries and varied faiths to experience India’s Culture and Spiritual Heritage.”
Reddy further informed that in India, in the spirit of our ancient philosophy of ‘Athithi Devo Bhava’ – where the guest is treated as divine, our foreign tourist arrivals after COVID 19 again have increased and Foreign Tourists during the period, January to April 2023 is 166 per cent higher than arrivals registered during the last year same period in 2022. (ANI)