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Outcomes of BRICS WBA Working Group on Creative Industries and Tourism Meeting

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16 November 2021
Russia, Russia
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On November 16, 2021, the Working Group on creative industries and tourism of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance held its first meeting. 

The participants of the meeting discussed the agenda set forward by the Indian part. The main emphasis was placed on the creative industries sector. The leaders highlighted several aims of the Working Group: 

  • to promote the exchange of creative ideas through the organization of joint cross-border content production and the search for business ideas to help women’s entrepreneurship in the creative industries; 
  • to expand financing tools for women entrepreneurs with the help of the BRICS Venture Fund; 
  • to “invest in young professionals” by organizing student exchanges, internships and establishing scholarships. 

The representative of the Brazilian Chapter, Monica Monteiro, stated the need to elaborate further on the proposals of the Indian side and discuss ways to implement them. She also invited the members of the Working Group to join a separate session of the forum (WeForum) dedicated to creative industries in March in Sao Paulo (Brazil). 

The Russian Chapter, represented by Elena Chashchina, CEO of EPOTOS Group, made a number of proposals on the topic of tourism: 

  • to create and promote tourist products and routes of the BRICS countries, to promote their competitiveness, accessibility and safety; 
  • to organize interaction and exchange of experience with the tourism agencies of the BRICS countries, women entrepreneurs and representatives of tour operators, insurers, the hotel industry, restaurant business, transportation, security organizations and security structures; 
  • to develop a “single tourist window” of the BRICS countries on the basis of the Alliance platform, which accumulates all the information on the tourist products of the BRICS countries, safety recommendations, online content for the development of the BRICS countries’ tourism brand, created, among other things, using 3D and virtual reality technologies; 
  • to form the brand “women of the BRICS countries” by launching and promoting a series of promotional videos, photo exhibitions; 
  • eliminate barriers for BRICS tourists through simplification of visa procedures, digitalization of tourist services, and increased security measures. 

According to Elena Chashchina, the BRICS countries own 21% of the natural and 12% of UNESCO’s cultural heritage. Almost 8% of all tourists in the world already choose to travel to the five BRICS states and the BRICS countries also produce a quarter of the total global volume of importing tourist services. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the potential of the BRICS countries in the sphere of tourism, including by improving its safety.

The Chinese Chapter suggested paying attention to the digitalization of the sphere and the technological component of creative industries. 

The representative of the South African Chapter focused on the connection between tourism and film production and noted the importance of developing business tourism between the BRICS countries and promoting the countries as attractive places for tourists.

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