States get ready for G20
It was a no-brainer that the recent National Conference of State Tourism Ministers was to prepare everyone for India’s upcoming G20 Presidency, for which events will begin starting 2023. While such a conference used to be an annual feature in Ministry of Tourism’s (MOT’s) calendar pre-COVID, but now it has been held on a bigger scale with everyone descending to Dharamshala for three days. Team MOT was full of vigour and was assisted by Niti Aayog to put the event together, which was organised at the behest of the Prime Minister himself—another sign that India needs to pull up its socks for G20. Many state tourism ministers showed up at the event and did both open-door and closed-door meetings with Union Minister of Tourism & Culture, G Kishan Reddy and other MOT officials. Even Secretaries and Directors of Tourism from various states turned up. All of them made their presentations with full fervour and showcased both their assets and challenges. The highlight was the fact that all these states know how to present themselves, not only at a local platform, but also internationally. However, is India using this content to its optimum? Some of the stakeholders pointed this out too.
With 215 meetings at 55 destinations across India, G20 Presidency will be the litmus test for India’s M!CE and destination potential. If a country pushes to reach a new height with a global event, the effect lasts long. Delhi’s facelift during Commonwealth Games is an example of how infrastructure creation makes the lives of locals and tourists easy. Although there is aways scope for more.
The thrust, as the minister pointed out, should be on infrastructure development and creating the right buzz about the state, with the products making sure that the tourists or delegates are not disappointed. As Amitabh Kant puts it, every state needs to find its own niche and play accordingly. The underline message was for everyone to work together. May be it was the first step in that direction.
We, while watching from the sidelines, only support the initiative and hope that India becomes that tourism superpower, which was intended through the conference and is a treat for international as well as domestic tourists.