On July 11, 2024, a meeting of the Council of Tourism of the CIS member states was held in Kyrgyzstan.

At the meeting, the CIS Business Center announced the creation of a new platform for joint work of industry associations, unions, and tourism industry associations of the Commonwealth countries - the International Council for Sustainable Tourism Development.

In modern conditions of global turbulence and geopolitical uncertainty, such platforms are becoming an effective format for the development of international business cooperation.

“The idea of ​​creating this platform was first voiced on the sidelines of the International Forum “Sustainable Development of Tourism and Hospitality Industry in Modern Conditions” in February 2023 in Cairo. The discussion continued on the need to unite the efforts of industry associations of the tourism industry in the fall of the same year at the site of the First International Tourism Forum “Strategy for Tourism Development in an Unsustainable World” in Aktau. The final decision on the need to create an International Council for Sustainable Tourism Development was made in March of this year at the tourism section of the International Economic Forum of the CIS Member States 2024 in Moscow, which was included in the forum resolution,” comments the Chairman of the Committee for Sustainable Tourism Development of the CIS Business Center, Christopher Konstantinidi.

The International Council for Sustainable Tourism Development has united industry unions, associations and associations from Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. It is planned that in the future industry associations and tourism industry organizations from the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America will join the council.

The platform was created to unite the efforts of the tourism business for the sustainable development of tourism, international tourism integration, transformation of tourism logistics, building business connections with promising partners, developing new international tourist routes (tourist products), organizing interaction with international organizations and government agencies.

The Russian Convention Bureau will take part in the work of the International Council for Sustainable Tourism Development. Director of the Russian Convention Bureau Sagid Zaremukov commented: “I am confident that given the high potential for cooperation between Commonwealth countries in the development of the event industry and business tourism, work in the International Council will be of great practical importance and will contribute to further intercountry integration.”

One of the first international projects of the International Council for Sustainable Tourism Development will be “Wine Roads of the CIS”.

The first meeting of the International Council is scheduled for autumn 2024 in Minsk.