The Second D-8 Senior Officials and Ministerial Meetings were held from 18-20 November 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Ministers and Senior Officials from the D-8 Member States participated in the events and had fruitful discussions on advancing Tourism cooperation among the Member States.
Tourism is one of the six D-8 Priority Areas of Cooperation. In pursuit of fostering cooperation in this sector, the Member States have expressed determination to work closely in order to enhance the role of this important sector as a foreign exchange earner, major source of employment, enabler of people to people contacts and promoter of global harmony.
After three days of deliberations to deepen their cooperation in the tourism sector, the D-8 Member States adopted the following documents:
Kuala Lumpur Declaration on D-8 Tourism Cooperation 2019;
D-8 Comprehensive Strategy on Tourism; and
Crescent Moon Initiative
In addition, delegates from the Member States agreed on initiatives aimed at enhancing the collaboration on tourism among the D-8 Member States. These include creating the D-8 Tourism Logo, proposing to establish a D-8 project funding programme, organizing joint Tourism packages, establishing linkages between Member States’ national tourism organizations, associations and training academies as well as working together towards organizing travel fairs.
In line with current global trends, the delegates expressed their intention to embrace the application of new technologies to further integrate tourism into the digital economy. The delegates also reiterated their commitment towards sustainable and inclusive tourism development with a view to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The delegates also expressed their immense gratitude and appreciation to Malaysia for graciously hosting the event and according them excellent meeting facilities and generous hospitality.