Int’l Confab On Sustainable Tourism Development Starts In India

New Delhi, April 13, IRNA -- UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Commissionˈs Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development and 25th Joint Meeting of UNWTO Commission for East Asia, Pacific and South Asia, kicked off Friday in Hyderabad, capital of South Indiaˈs Andhra Pradesh. Around 100 international delegates from 24 member countries are attending the three-day event. India’s Union Tourism Minister K. Chiranjeevi, inaugurating the conference said that in the coming years, the Asia and Pacific regions with their vast range of destinations and products can achieve higher growth in tourism by developing synergy to promote tourism products and destinations jointly. The Minister said “Intra-regional and inter-regional cooperation holds the key to the growth of this sector. Further, the tourism industry with its established contributions towards economic growth, employment generation and social integration, will have to be made sustainable for drawing the benefits over a longer period of time,” said an official release. Meanwhile, Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of UNWTO in his opening address referred to Hyderabad as the city of smiles. He mentioned that 2012 was a historical year which saw 1,035 million people crossing international borders. While the tourism sector saw a growth of 4% the Asian region saw a growth of 7% and accounted for 25% of world traffic. He predicted a growth of 3.5 to 4% for the tourism sector worldwide and a growth of 5-6% for the Asian region. Such a huge activity leaves imprints. He mentioned that more growth must mean more sustainability. Over the period of 62 years the number of people crossing international borders has grown from 25 million to 1035 million which requires more responsibility, he added. During the conference exchange of ideas will take place on the way forward to develop tourism in a sustainable manner. The 25th meeting of the UNWTO Joint Commission will bring together tourism authorities from 24 member countries and two associate members and give them an opportunity to review the performance of the two regions and deliberate upon measures and policies to be adopted in future. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy was among the dignitaries who spoke during the inaugural session of the three-day international conference, organized by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India in collaboration with the State Government of Andhra Pradesh./end