BRICS Tourism Ministers Converge in Cape Town to Deepen Cooperation
Following the successful hosting of the BRICS Summit in South Africa earlier this year, next week, between 24 and 26 October 2023, Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille will host the BRICS Tourism Ministers Meeting in Cape Town.
The BRICS Tourism Ministers’ Meeting for 2023 will provide an opportunity for exchange of information and experiences as well as deepen cooperation among BRICS Members to reach consensus on key policy priorities for a balanced tourism recovery.
South Africa’s chairship of BRICS will also promote dialogue among BRICS Members and build on the successes of the previous chairs as well as advance the aspirations of the BRICS Summits where the leaders acknowledged, among others the urgent need for tourism sector’s recovery and the importance of increasing intra-BRICS tourism for a more resilient, sustainable and inclusive tourism sector.
Over the past two years, the BRICS Members have made strides in promoting alignment on tourism priority areas. For example, the focal area for tourism cooperation in 2021 was “BRICS Alliance for Green Tourism” spearheaded by India and in 2022 “Green growth, sustainable development and resilient recovery” led by China.
To ensure continuity and leverage on the combined strength of BRICS Members, South Africa’s theme for chairing BRICS Tourism in 2023 is “Sustainable and inclusive tourism recovery”, aligned to the overall theme of SA’s chairship.
Tourism was one of the hardest hit sectors by the Covid-19 pandemic with far reaching impact and numerous destinations are grappling with other major stresses and shocks, ranging from electricity or water shortages to extreme weather events. Recovery from COVID-19 provides an opportunity to implement transformational shifts as the Travel and Tourism sector creates a more resilient and inclusive future.
As the tourism sector is bouncing back, it will continue its growth, providing crucial jobs for people all over the world and drive long-term sustainable growth.
To secure the future of Travel and Tourism, along with the businesses and communities that sustain it, the sector must prepare for future crises and manage ongoing challenges.
As the BRICS partnership involves a strong commitment to joint cooperation, interaction, shared responsibility and strengthened collaboration, the BRICS Tourism Ministers’ Meeting in 2023 will provide an opportunity for the BRICS Members to promote dialogue and share expertise and actions for the advancement of a more resilient, sustainable and inclusive tourism sector.
