Ministry Of Tourism To Host G20 Tourism Expo In Rajasthan

In keeping with India&rsquos G20 Presidency and ongoing meetings of G20 countries, the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India is set to host the G20 Tourism Expo in Jaipur, Rajasthan, from 23rd to 25th April 2023.
 
The G20 Tourism Expo will be organised alongside the 12th edition of the Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB).&nbspThe first edition of GITB was held in 2008 and, since then, has grown and is considered a force to reckon with. GITB is co-organised by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, along with the Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The G20 Tourism Expo will feature panel discussions, ambassadors&rsquo roundtable, a cultural evening, golf games and other programmes.
 
The inaugural session of the G20 Tourism Expo will be addressed by India&rsquos G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, and Arvind Singh, Secretary Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
 
In a special arrangement, foreign tour operators (FTOs) from G20 nations will travel on &lsquoThe Palace on Wheels&rsquo from New Delhi to Jaipur on April 22.
 
Being held after a gap of three years, GITB will witness over 11,000 B2B meetings of 283 tour operators from 56 countries, including 150 from G20 countries, with the representatives of Tourism Boards from 11 states, namely &ndash Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh, apart from Rajasthan along with more than 290 Indian exhibitors.

G20 Tourism Expo Speakers
The lineup of speakers comprises Vishvendra Singh, the Hon&rsquoble Minister of Tourism for the Government of Rajasthan Murari Lal Meena, the Hon&rsquoble Minister (state) of Tourism for the Government of Rajasthan Amitabh Kant, India&rsquos G20 Sherpa Usha Sharma, Chief Secretary for the Government of Rajasthan Arvind Singh, Secretary for the Ministry of Tourism of the Government of India Gayatri Rathore, Principal Secretary for Tourism, Art & Culture for the Government of Rajasthan, and Dipak Deva, Chairperson of the FICCI Tourism & Culture Committee, among other notable figures.

&ldquoThe G20 Presidency has provided India with a strong platform to promote its sustainable/green tourism vision. The GoI is working with G20 countries to promote five areas &ndash digitalisation, MSMEs, people skilling, destination management and waste management. These areas are essential to aid the tourism sector's growth. We hope G20 Tourism Expo and GITB will further boost the tourism sector to regain momentum and further build on the same to achieve India&rsquos sustainable/green tourism vision," stated Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
 
Terming it a trailblazer, Gayatri Rathore, Principal Secretary,Tourism, Art & Culture of Rajasthan Government, said, &ldquoThe State Government has taken bold and visionary steps to promote tourism and hospitality. In the past year, 381 MoUs/LoIs were signed, generating Rs. 14,146 crores and creating 61,054 jobs. The State budget of 23-24 also encourages investment as rationalisation of DLC rates and concessions on stamp duty have been announced 1,500 crore allocation for tourism promotion. I&rsquom sure this event will add to our strengths."
 
Excited over the encouraging response from the industry and foreign participants, Dipak Deva, Chairperson of FICCI Tourism & Culture Committee, said, &ldquoThe tourism industry has endured many hardships due to Covid, but that is behind us now. From just 1.52 million Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in 2021, India recorded 6.19 million FTAs in 2022, a massive four-fold increase. We hope to keep the momentum and aim to reach 11 million FTAs that is where we were in 2019. GITB will play a significant role in that objective.&rdquo
 
Entry to both G20 Tourism Expo and GITB 2023 is restricted to registered Foreign Buyers and Indian Exhibitors only.
 
The premier tourism event is supported by leading national and regional associations like the Hotel & Restaurant Association of Rajasthan (HRAR), India.

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