The G20 Tourism Ministers' Meeting | G20 Update

A Landmark Declaration Paving The Way for Sustainable Development

By Shumirai Chimombe

• It is the second largest destination G20 welcomed 74% of all international tourists (2022)

• This was 73% of tourism exports worldwide.

• G20 economies tourism direct GDP reached 3.7% (2019)

Source: G20 South Africa Tourism Working Group

Tourism ministers and senior representatives from the world’s largest economies came together on 12 September for the G20 Tourism Ministers’ Meeting at Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga. This was to discuss and agree on priorities for the G20’s action plan to advance the tourism sector in the member states.

In his welcome address Mpumalanga province Premier Mandla Ndlovu said: “This G20 platform reminds us that tourism is more than leisure, it is a driver of trade, infrastructure development, and international cooperation. We fully understand that it is out of such meetings that, as Mpumalanga, we will be assisted to safeguard the longterm prosperity of the tourism industry through sustainable development.”

A significant outcome of the meeting was the Mpumalanga Declaration in which the ministers supported the four tourism priority areas identified by the tourism working group to develop a sustainable, inclusive and resilient tourism sector.

Some excerpts from the Declaration:

Priority One: Digital Innovation to Enhance Travel and Tourism Start-ups and MSMEs

Integrating digital innovation, especially Artificial Intelligence (AI), smart platforms, and datadriven solutions, is no longer a future ambition but a present necessity to help address the challenges faced by the tourism sector, and in particular MSMEs and rural communities. Recognising that inclusive growth must be matched by preparedness for future challenges, we underscore the importance of improving crisis readiness and response in tourism through the use of AI and other digital tools for early warnings, effective communication, and rapid recovery from disruptions.

This includes building the capacity of MSMEs through targeted training, facilitating affordable access to technology, and monitoring progress with clear and measurable indicators. We encourage the G20 Members and invited countries to undertake the following actions on a voluntary basis, in accordance with their policies, regulations and priorities, to empower tourism start-ups and MSMEs through digital innovation:

• a) Integrate AI innovation into national tourism strategies

• b) Promote standardisation

• c) Build institutional capacity and develop training programmes

• d) Establish financial incentives for MSME digital transformation

• e) Foster Inclusive entrepreneurship & innovation ecosystems and Incubators

• f) Expand digital access and smart infrastructure

• g) Promote ethical and responsible AI adoption, in line with national priorities

• h) Strengthen security of and in the use of ICTs and digital trust

• i) Apply digital tools to monitor and reduce environmental impacts

• j) Monitor progress and foster adaptive policy frameworks

Priority Two: Tourism Financing and Investment to Enhance Equality and Promote Sustainable Development

We recognise the importance of working with international financial institutions and development banks to explore opportunities to scale up concessional financing and blended finance schemes, with tailored instruments for resilient tourism infrastructure. We further recognise the importance of Official Development Assistance (ODA), including concessional resources, and financing instruments in promoting inclusion, namely for women, youth and people with disabilities, while attracting private capital into MSMEs and community-based initiatives.

We emphasise the importance of integrating tourism into national development strategies and the need to unlock financing for sustainable tourism. To complement scarce resources, we call for the mobilisation of public-private capital through transparent, predictable, and sustainability-aligned investment environments. We underscore the importance of project preparation, blended and impact finance, advocating for the creation of equity funding schemes and risk-sharing facilities to lower barriers for private participation, with emphasis on transparency and accountability.

Priority Three: Air Connectivity for Seamless Travel

We recognise that connectivity plays a crucial role in driving tourism development, with air travel accounting for 56% of all international arrivals and more than 70% for over half of G20 economies. We acknowledge that enhancing air connectivity for seamless travel promotes solidarity, coherence among peoples, equal opportunity and sustainable development. The development of air travel should align with sustainability in its economic, social and environmental dimensions. We acknowledge that an enhanced coordination between tourism and civil aviation administrations could help foster partnerships between the tourism and transport sectors, promote air connectivity for seamless travel and advance flagship projects in G20 economies such as the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).

We encourage G20 members and invited countries to focus their efforts on the following areas of actions to enhance air connectivity for tourism at national, bilateral and multilateral level on a voluntary basis, in accordance with national policies, regulations and priorities:

• a) Route development: enhance marketing, financial and/or economic levers

• b) Market access: open the skies, competition

• c) Policy coordination and alignment: Create a new governance between tourism and air transport

• d) Multimodal integration and create conditions for seamless travel.

Priority Four: Enhanced Resilience for Inclusive Sustainable Tourism Development

We recognise the need for G20 members and invited countries to promote inclusive tourism, recognising that sustainable and resilient development not only directly sustains and creates decent work, businesses and entrepreneurship, but also catalyses broader economic growth and expands opportunities for youth, women, people in vulnerable situations, local communities and Indigenous Peoples, as appropriate, with a practical and evidence-based approach. We reaffirm that social inclusion is a cornerstone of sustainable and resilient tourism. In this regard, appropriate indicators should be employed to measure progress in improving quality of life, reducing inequalities, and preserving cultural heritage.

We encourage G20 members and invited countries to undertake the following actions on a voluntary basis, in accordance with their policies, regulations and priorities, to enhance resilience for inclusive and sustainable tourism development:

• a) Embed sustainability and resilience as core pillars of tourism policy

• b) Strengthen crisis preparedness and rapid response

• c) Foster inclusive tourism that benefits and engages local populations and communities

• d) Drive economic and product diversification

• e) Unlock finance and support for tourism start-ups and MSMEs

• f) Invest in smart, sustainable and resilient systems

• g) Leverage data, technology and foresight

• h) Strengthen public-private collaboration

• i) Support the development of sustainable tourism in under-developed or lesser known regions

Looking To The Future - Hackathon and Empowering The Youth

Minister of Tourism Patricia De Lille reported in the meeting that over the past few weeks, 48 talented students from 21 institutions came together at the University of the Western Cape for the G20 Tourism Hackathon. They tackled real-world challenges using AI, design thinking, and human-centred innovation. Their solutions ranged from immersive heritage platforms to offline learning kiosks and innovative safety tools.

The winning teams of the challenge - The Catalysts, Map My Biz, and Ubuntu Unlimited - had the opportunity to present their solutions at the G20 Tourism Ministers’ Meeting.

“These young minds remind us: tourism is not just about travel - it’s about transformation. It’s about empowering the next generation to build a sector that is inclusive, sustainable, and tech-savvy. Let us celebrate their creativity and commit to nurturing it. Because when we invest in youth, we invest in the future of tourism.”

The full Mpumalanga Declaration can be found on the G20 South Africa website.

Upcoming Events

September

22-24: 4th Digital Economy Working Group meeting

25: 2nd Foreign Ministers’ meeting (New York, USA (on the margins of UNGA High-Level Week)

29: Digital Economy Working Group Ministerial meeting

30: Task Force 3 Ministerial Meeting: Artificial Intelligence, Data Governance And Innovation For Sustainable Development

October

3: 11th G20 Parliamentary Speaker’ Summit (P20)

7-8: 5th Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting

7-9: 4th Trade and Investment Working Group Meeting

7-9: 4th Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting

10: Energy Transitions Working Group Ministerial Meeting

15-16: 4th Finance and Central Bank Ministerial Meeting

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Sources: G20 South Africa | Mpumalanga Provincial Government