G Kishan Reddy chairs BRICS Tourism Ministers' meeting

Union minister G Kishan Reddy chaired the BRICS Tourism Ministers' meeting on Tuesday as part of India's BRICS chairship and said it was important for member countries to understand the tourism products of each other.

Ministers of all BRICS countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- participated in the meeting, an official statement said.

India organised the BRICS Tourism Ministers' meeting as an effective means to promote tourism cooperation among member countries, it said.

The meeting reviewed the intra-BRICS tourism cooperation. A significant aspect of the meeting was the adoption of the Ministers' Communique, an outcome document on cooperation and promotion of tourism between BRICS countries.

The Ministers' Communique recognised that the COVID-19 pandemic has severely endangered public health and has presented immense challenges to the implementation of sustainable development goals.

''It is important of the BRICS member states to have a good understanding of each other's tourism products and offerings so as to encourage further growth of tourist inflow between the BRICS member countries.

''The common tourism products in BRICS countries such as heritage, culture, tourism, nature, wildlife, eco tourism present an opportunity for greater cooperation and exchange of information and best practices,'' Reddy said.

Further, to promote tourism for the future, it was recognised that BRICS alliance for green tourism can accelerate the recovery and development of tourism on sustainable lines.

Some of the key elements of the BRICS alliance for green tourism are mainstreaming sustainability into the tourism sector policies, conservation efforts, sustainable development goals, shift towards renewable source of energy, conservation efforts for green tourism which will encourage investment in nature based solutions and supporting the fragile eco systems.

''The BRICS Tourism Ministers' meeting also highlighted the importance of strengthening cooperation in tourism in the areas of promoting responsible and sustainable tourism, investment in tourism infrastructure, close interaction between tourism enterprises and human resource development. The ministers resolved to work together to realise the full potential of BRICS countries through cooperation in the tourism sector,'' the statement added.

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