India on Monday chaired the inaugural BRICS 2026 Tourism Working Group (TWG) meeting in virtual mode under its BRICS 2026 Chairship, marking the beginning of tourism cooperation initiatives among member nations for the year.
The meeting was chaired by the Joint Secretary (Tourism) in the Ministry of Tourism and served as an introductory and preparatory platform to advance the tourism cooperation agenda under the broader theme of “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”.
During the meeting, BRICS member countries presented their introductory remarks and discussed India’s thematic priorities for tourism cooperation during its chairship.
The priorities outlined by India include the use of Artificial Intelligence in tourism, sustainability and responsible tourism, tourism skilling and capacity building, as well as tourism exchanges and seamless travel facilitation among BRICS nations.
The Ministry of Tourism said the discussions laid the foundation for deeper collaboration among member countries and set the stage for future engagements during India’s BRICS presidency in 2026.
The tourism cooperation process will continue with the second BRICS Tourism Working Group meeting scheduled to be held in Jaipur, Rajasthan, on August 19 and 20.
This will be followed by the BRICS Tourism Ministers’ Meeting on August 21 and 22, also in Jaipur, where member nations are expected to further deliberate on joint tourism initiatives and collaborative frameworks.
India said it looks forward to strengthening tourism partnerships among BRICS countries through continued engagement and cooperation during the course of its chairship year.
