The G20 focused on tourism will focus on the empowerment of communities

The first meeting of the G20 Tourism Working Group to be held under the Indian presidency focused on the role of the sector in advancing the 2030 Agenda

UNWTO is working as the knowledge partner of the Presidency to deliver the Goa Roadmap for Tourism as a vehicle to achieve the SDGs. This week’s meeting, held at the Rann of Kutch (7-9 February), also featured a side event dedicated to rural tourism for community development and poverty alleviation. Here, UNWTO shared its recently launched Rural Development Tourism Program, including the Better Tourist Towns Initiative.

The side event was an opportunity to highlight opportunities for rural tourism, including new consumer behaviors and growing interest in new destinations. The meeting also explored the main challenges facing the sector, particularly with regard to digital and non-digital infrastructure, the empowerment of local communities and skills development. The findings presented were the result of an analysis of more than 200 candidatures from towns around the world to the Better Tourist Towns Initiative, as well as the priorities and policies of UNWTO Member States.

Representatives from Indonesia, Spain, Italy and Japan joined UNWTO, the UN Environmental Program, the International Labor Organization and the South Asia Women’s Network (SWAN) in discussing how can tourism policy can support tourism’s contribution to rural development. Participants stressed that the sustainability of tourism in rural areas is dependent on a comprehensive planning strategy is adopted and implemented based on a multi-action and multi-stakeholder participatory approach. Furthermore, it was noted that rural tourism requires the support of regional and local governments, the private sector, industry associations, civil society, communities and tourists.

In 2021, recognizing the immense potential of rural tourism in the country, the Ministry of Tourism of India formulated a National Strategy and Roadmap for the Development of Rural Tourism. Reflecting this, the event also featured rural tourism cases from India, including examples of astro-tourism, homestay and women’s empowerment, as well as the Indian village selected by UNWTO to join the Village Improvement Program best tourist villages: Khonoma village in Nagaland.

Source: UNWTO