Tourism recovery should look beyond just using economic impact as a measure of success but should focus on how it impacts people and the environment. This was the message at the start of the BRICS Tourism Ministers’ Meeting in Cape Town yesterday (Tuesday, October 24).
The two-day meeting was held under the theme ‘Sustainable and Inclusive Tourism Recovery’. Speaking at the opening of the event at the Table Bay Hotel, Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille said: “Our collective recovery of tourism must be measured beyond economic impacts. A fairer development model is called for. It involves stakeholders at different levels in its planning and implementation and provides decent work conditions and opportunities for all, including women, youth, people with disabilities, and indigenous communities.”
She said the meeting would encourage a “paradigm shift” away from using tourist arrivals to measure success towards a focus on community impact.
Vice Minister of Tourism in Brazil, Ana Carla Lopes, said: “Tourism is made of many great hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, and airlines, but at the end of the day, we are talking about millions of people, and those people must be positively impacted.”
The BRICS Tourism Ministers Meeting took place following South Africa’s hosting of the BRICS summit earlier this year, during which Heads of State committed to working closely on tourism industry recovery and to increasing mutual tourist flows.
“The BRICS partnership straddles four continents and five countries home to almost three and a half billion people. This is enough reason for BRICS Tourism Ministers and countries to come together and work in collaboration to grow our sectors and economies,” De Lille said.
She added that the engagements over the past two days had focused on information and experience sharing. She said the meeting would also work towards reaching “a consensus on key policy priorities for a more just and sustainable tourism recovery”.
“We do so because we know that poverty, unemployment, and inequality are the world's biggest problems,” said De Lille.
China’s Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism, Yingchuan Lu said each country had unique approaches to developing the sector, adding that he believed the meeting would “allow member countries to share professional knowledge and exchange practical experience”.
While focusing on sustainable, equitable, and green tourism, representatives also indicated a keenness to share information on other issues.
De Lille said she was interested in how the other members of the BRICS pact were using technology to manage the flows of tourists into and out of their countries, while India’s Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Rakesh Kumar Verma, said there was a need to “share and learn” on issues including crisis management and the use of technology.
Russia, meanwhile, was looking to get acquainted with members’ national tourism strategies and identify areas of further co-operation.
The meeting ended today (October 25).
