India, Italy step up tourism cooperation with focus on cine-tourism, destination twinning
New Delhi: India and Italy have agreed to deepen cooperation in tourism, with discussions focusing on cine-tourism, destination twinning, tourism data, skill development and stronger business-to-business engagement.
The agreement was reached during the second meeting of the India-Italy Joint Working Group (JWG) on Tourism held on September 29. The meeting was co-chaired by Bhuvnesh Kumar, secretary, Ministry of Tourism, and Emanuela Tripi, secretary-general, Italy’s Ministry of Tourism.
Officials from India’s Tourism and Culture ministries, Ministry of External Affairs, the Indian Embassy in Rome and the Indian Association of Tour Operators participated in the meeting. Italy was represented by officials from its tourism and foreign ministries, the Italian Embassy in New Delhi and the Italian National Tourism Board (ENIT).
The discussions covered ways to increase tourism data sharing, promote lesser-known destinations and develop cooperation in cine-tourism. The two sides also explored destination twinning, capacity building and skill development, besides creating greater opportunities for tourism industry-to-industry engagement.
As a follow-up measure, India and Italy agreed to create focused technical groups and designate points of contact for the identified areas. The mechanism is intended to facilitate regular coordination between government agencies and tourism-sector stakeholders.
The two countries also discussed tourism and cultural cooperation linked to the proposed India-Italy Year of Culture and Tourism 2027.
The meeting reaffirmed the two countries’ intention to strengthen institutional and industry-level linkages and expand tourism and cultural exchanges between India and Italy.
