The 2nd India-Italy Joint Working Group on Tourism met to discuss strengthening bilateral cooperation. Key areas included data exchange, cine-tourism, and skilling, with both sides agreeing to form technical groups for sustained engagement.

The 2nd India–Italy Joint Working Group (JWG) on Tourism was held on Tuesday, co-chaired by Bhuvnesh Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, and Emanuela Tripi, Secretary-General, Ministry of Tourism, Italy. According to the Ministry of Tourism, the meeting brought together representatives from the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of External Affairs, Embassy of India in Rome and Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) from the Indian side. The Italian delegation included senior officials from the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Embassy of Italy in New Delhi and ENIT (Italian National Tourism Board).

Key Areas of Cooperation

The discussions covered a broad range of areas for strengthening tourism cooperation between the two countries, including exchange of tourism data, promotion of lesser-known destinations, cine-tourism, destination twinning, skilling and capacity building, and enhanced Business-to-Business (B2B) engagement. As a key outcome of the meeting, both sides agreed to establish focused technical groups and designate points of contact to take forward the identified areas of cooperation and facilitate sustained engagement between relevant stakeholders.

Future Initiatives and Commitment

The two sides also discussed opportunities for tourism cooperation in the context of the proposed India–Italy Year of Culture and Tourism 2027, with a view to further strengthening cultural and tourism exchanges between the two countries. The 2nd Joint Working Group meeting reaffirmed the commitment of India and Italy to deepen bilateral cooperation in tourism and create stronger institutional and industry linkages between the two countries.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy (MAECI), the Italy-India Joint Working Group held its first meeting at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Farnesina). (ANI)

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