K. J. Alphons, Minister of State (IC) for Tourism, Govt of India along with a delegation of senior officials is attending the 109th session of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Executive Council in Manama, Bahrain. The three day Session of UNWTO Executive Council began on 30th October 2018. The Executive Council will discuss several topics on the agenda that are related to the development of global Tourism sector.
During the opening day of the Executive Council meeting, Alphons chaired the ‘Programme and Budget Committee’ meeting of UNWTO. In his opening remarks, the Minister highlighted the role of tourism in socio-economic development through job creation, enterprise and environment development and foreign exchange earnings. As the chair of the Committee, the Minister informed the session that for the first time, UNWTO had a surplus budget and most of the arrears due have been paid. India will be the chair of Programme and Budget Committee of UNWTO Executive Council till 2021.
At the sidelines, the Tourism Minister also met the Secretary-General of UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili and discussed on involving UNWTO in developing tourism as a strong agent for the better future of the world and establishing the Global Public Private Partnerships.
