BRICS 2026 Tourism Working Group Meeting: India’s Focus on Sustainable and AI-Driven Tourism

India chaired the inaugural BRICS 2026 Tourism Working Group (TWG) Meeting virtually on 25 May 2026 under its BRICS Chairship.

• India outlined its thematic priorities for tourism cooperation during its BRICS Chairship year.
  • The meeting laid the foundation for future ministerial and working-group engagements in 2026.

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About BRICS Tourism Working Group Meet

• The BRICS Tourism Working Group Meeting marked the formal beginning of tourism cooperation initiatives among BRICS nations during India’s 2026 Chairship.
• Objective: To strengthen tourism cooperation and develop a coordinated tourism agenda among BRICS member countries.
• Theme:  “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”
• India’s Key Focus Areas under BRICS 2026 Chairship
• • Artificial Intelligence in Tourism: India emphasised the use of Artificial Intelligence to improve tourism services, digital experiences, destination management and data-driven policy planning.
  • Sustainability and Responsible Tourism: India highlighted sustainable tourism practices focused on environmental conservation, cultural preservation and balanced tourism growth.
  • Tourism Skilling and Capacity Building: India stressed the importance of skill development, workforce training and institutional capacity building to enhance tourism sector competitiveness.
  • Tourism Exchanges and Seamless Travel Facilitation: India advocated stronger people-to-people exchanges and simplified travel mechanisms to promote tourism flows among BRICS countries.
• Significance: The initiative reflects India’s effort to strengthen multilateral tourism cooperation, promote innovation-driven tourism growth and enhance connectivity among BRICS nations.

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About BRICS

• Genesis: The term BRIC was coined by British economist Jim O’Neill in 2001 to represent the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China.
• Evolution: 
  • 2006: The first meeting of BRICS took place at the Ministers of Foreign Affairs level, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
  • 2009: The first BRICS Summit of Heads of State was held in Ekaterinburg, Russia.
  • 2010: The group expanded to BRICS with the inclusion of South Africa in 2010, adding a fifth member
  • 2023: The Johannesburg Summit led to the second expansion of BRICS, admitting six new members
• Aim: The primary aim of BRICS is to reform global governance and offer alternatives to the Western-dominated institutions like the IMF, World Bank, and UNSC
• Presidency: BRICS remains an informal coordination mechanism, with the presidency rotating among its members annually. 
• Pillars of Cooperation: According to the BRICS Terms of Reference, the BRICS partnership is based on three pillars of cooperation:
  • Political and Security Cooperation
  • Economic and Financial Cooperation
  • Cultural & People-to-People (P2P) or Civil Society
• Meetings under the BRICS range from annual leader summits to sector-specific ministerial gatherings and working-level sessions.
• Members (11): 
  • Initial Members (BRICS): Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa.
  • New Members (BRICS+): Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
• Other Engagement Modalities:
  • BRICS “Outreach”: Launched by South Africa in 2013, BRICS Outreach involves meetings between BRICS member countries and nations from the geographic region of the country currently holding the rotating BRICS presidency.
  • BRICS “Plus”: Initiated by China in 2017, BRICS Plus refers to meetings between BRICS member countries and invited non-regional countries (countries not from the geographic region of the current BRICS presidency).

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• Significance of BRICS
  • Global Economic Share: Share in Global GDP increased to approximately 40%
  • International Trade: BRICS countries account for 26% of total global trade
  • Demographic: BRICS represents 49.5% of the world’s population
  • Geographic Coverage: Approximately 36% of the world’s total territorial area.
  • Resource Control:
    • It holds 72% of the globe’s reserves of rare earth minerals.
    • BRICS accounts for around  43 % of global oil production.
    • BRICS nations produce 36% of the world’s natural gas.
    • They are responsible for 78.2% of global mineral coal production.

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