New Delhi | A roadmap and an action plan for tourism as a vehicle for achieving sustainable development goals and a ministerial communique endorsing it will be released after the last meeting of the G20 tourism working group in Goa in June, officials said on Friday.

The first G20 meeting under the tourism track is slated to be held in Gujarat's Rann of Kutch from February 7-9, followed by two more meetings in April and May. The last meeting will be held in Goa.

India is currently chairing the influential bloc and more than 200 meetings will be held across 55 locations, culminating with the annual G20 summit on September 9-10.

After the last tourism working group meet, the ministerial meet will take place in Goa.

A senior official of the Union Tourism ministry on Friday said, "There will be two key deliverables. At the end of our working group meetings and the ministerial meeting, we are going to declare a Goa Roadmap and Action Plan for tourism as a vehicle for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs).

"There are five priorities, and building on them, we are going to target the role of the tourism sector in accelerating the achievement of SDGs." There will be a "ministerial communique" that will be released at the end of the tourism working group and other deliberations which will endorse the Goa roadmap, he said.

There are five key priority areas so far as the G20 tourism track meetings are concerned -- greening of the tourism sector; harnessing the power of digitalisation; empowering youths with skills; nurturing tourism MSMEs, startups and private sector; and rethinking the strategic management of destinations, the official said.

"These are the priorities in continuation of the previous presidencies but we have consolidated them and made them more comprehensive during our presidency," he added.

India assumed the presidency of the influential bloc on December 1, setting the tone for the Tourism ministry's calendar this year.

"Building on these five priorities, we are going to target the role of the tourism sector in accelerating the achievement of SDGs. There will be a ministerial communique that will be released at the end of the working group meetings, which will endorse the Goa roadmap," the official said.

The ministerial communique will be arrived at by consensus among all member countries of the bloc, Union Tourism Secretary Arvind Singh said during a press interaction at the ministry's office here.

"It will be a ministerial communique that will be delivered at the end of the G20 deliberations on what the countries have decided, on each of these five priorities, the direction in which the G20 will go.

"We are hosting it (G20), laying down the strategies but, finally, it will be the G20's ministerial communique, arrived at by consensus among all member countries," he said.

The Tourism ministry is geared up to put its best foot forward and showcase to guests from different countries the cultural heritage and culinary delights of India.

The stage is set for the first G20 meeting under the tourism track at Rann of Kutch, with the main conference planned to be hosted at Dhordo tent city. Delegates will visit the UNESCO heritage site of Dholavira on February 9 and a memorial in Bhuj built after the deadly 2001 earthquake on February 10.

Union Tourism Secretary Singh on Tuesday said about 75-100 delegates, including both from India and foreign countries, are expected to take part in the main event hosted from February 7-9.

Two side events will also be held in Gujarat, one on rural tourism for community empowerment and poverty alleviation and the other on archaeological tourism.

Union Culture and Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupal and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will take part in the inaugural session on February 7, Tourism ministry officials said.

During the discussion on rural tourism, delegates of Indonesia, Italy, Spain and Japan will also share their views.

During the session on archaeological tourism, experts from UNESCO, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and NITI Aayog will present their views besides delegates from Spain, Mexico and Indonesia, among others.

The delegates will also be treated to sumptuous food and cultural performances amid the scenic landscape of Rann of Kutch.

"One of the purposes of G20 is to have a consensus on how to achieve the SDGs by 2030, and it is also one of our priorities. So, the rural tourism-related session is part of the event," Singh said.

The other senior official said India will showcase its best rural tourism practices in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, homestays and related practices in Ladakh and Nagaland.