The second tourism working group meeting will be held at Siliguri/Darjeeling in West Bengal from April 1 to 3, the ministry of tourism said on Wednesday.
Addressing media, Arvind Singh, secretary, ministry of tourism said five priorities of the group — green tourism, digitalisation, skills, tourism MSMEs, destination management — were introduced in the first meeting and the same was endorsed by all the G20 members, invitee countries and international organisations.
He said during the second tourism working group (TWG) meeting, the stakeholders will be discussing deeper and broad aspects of these key aspects.
Singh said the ministry is hosting a side event on ‘Adventure Tourism as a vehicle for achieving Sustainable Development Goals’. Seven northeastern states will give presentations on the topic at the event.
The Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) have been invited to participate as panelists, he said.
A full day event will be organised for domestic industry partners and state governments to deliberate on ‘Tourism in Mission Mode: Advantage Adventure Tourism’.
Singh further said a technical tour to Darjeeling has been planned during the second TWG meeting. In the second TWG meet,l one of the main attractions will be the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), also known as ‘Toy Train Ride’. The ride will be from Ghum, India’s highest railway station (altitude of 2,258 metres) to Batasia Loop.
During the meeting, all the delegates will have tea tasting and moonlight tea leaf plucking experience, he said.
Delegates will also be taken for a visit to Raj Bhavan, the summer residence for the Governor of West Bengal. A cultural programme and immersive experience of art and craft is being organised at Chowrasta (The Mall Road), Darjeeling and there will also be display of Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) products.
An exhibition will be opened for general public from April 3 to 5 to increase awareness of India’s G20 presidency and promotion of sustainable practices under Adventure Tourism at the Mall Road, Darjeeling.
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