Terrorism divides but tourism unites and helps in creating a harmonious society, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday. A video message from Modi was played at the inaugural session of the G20 Tourism Ministerial Meeting here.
"It is said that terrorism divides, but tourism unites. Tourism has the potential to unite people from all walks of life thereby creating a harmonious society," he said. The prime minister expressed confidence that the deliberations and the 'Goa Roadmap' would "multiply the collective efforts to realise tourism's transformative power".
A Goa Roadmap and Action Plan, and a ministerial outcome document later came out at the end of the G20 ministerial here. Tourism ministers and delegates from various G20 countries, including guest countries, are attending the two-day ministerial meeting.
About 130 delegates from countries such as the US, the UK, Spain, South Africa, Russia, Mauritius, Australia, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, Nigeria, Oman, the Netherlands, Bangladesh, and top international organisations took part in the event in Goa.
Modi said tourism ministers rarely get a chance to be tourists themselves even though they are handling a sector worth more than USD 2 trillion globally.
Underlining that the meeting was taking place in Goa, one of the major tourist attractions in India, the prime minister urged the dignitaries to take out some time from their serious discussions and explore the natural beauty and the spiritual side of the state.
In the last nine years, the central government has placed special emphasis on developing the entire ecosystem of tourism in India, he said.
