Wednesday 12 October 2011

India made Chariman of United Nations South Asian Regional Commission for Tourism

India has been made Chairman of United Nations South Asian regional commission for tourism. The chairmanship of the Commission was with Iran for the last four years. This was announced at ongoing United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Conference at Gyeongju,South Korea today. Union Tourism Minister, Shri .Subodhkant Sahai is presently leading the Indian delegation at UNWTO meeting in South Korea. Shri Sahai while addressing member countries at UNWTO meet at Gyeongju said, “It is a great privilege for me to address this 19th General Assembly of UNWTO today in this in this beautiful coastal city of Gyeongiu and by making India Chairman of United Nations South Asian regional commission for tourism for another four years signifies the confidence of various countries in India and the efforts of the Indian government in promotion of tourism in the country as well as across the globe in responsible and sustainable manner to bring in inclusive growth”. Shri Sahai further said, “Sustainable, safe and honorable tourism are the pillars of India’s strategy and the schemes and programs implemented by Government of India are primarily focused on inclusive development, integrated with the overall anti-poverty strategy”.

It has been estimated that by the year 2016-17, the growth in the sector would enable additional employment generation of around 25 million persons. There would be a need for additional 42 million skilled persons in hospitality sector alone. We are therefore giving a major boost to the skill development in the sector by harnessing both public and private sector educational and training infrastructure of the country. We are also encouraging our academic Institutes to go in for MOU’s with reputed counterparts of other countries for achieving academic excellence. I would urge UNWTO to intensify its efforts in providing the support to member countries in developing a skill development framework based on successful best practices across the globe. India mandates promotion of tourism in the country in responsible and sustainable manner government of India is in process of establishment of Sustainable Tourism Criteria for India (STCI) and indicators for the accommodation sector and tour operators, the Minister added.

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