Following the hosting of the BRICS Summit in South Africa earlier this year, next week, from October 24-26, 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, and deepen co-operation among BRICS members to reach consensus on key policy priorities for a balanced tourism recovery.

South Africa’s chairmanship 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 the 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 co-operation 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 chairmanship.

As the BRICS partnership involves a strong commitment to joint co-operation, interaction, shared responsibility and strengthened collaboration, the BRICS Tourism Ministers’ Meeting this year 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.