BRICS Tourism Cooperation Under India's 2026 Chairship: Priorities And The Jaipur Declaration, August 2026 - IMPRI Impact And Policy Research Institute

Policy Update
Ninchen Tamang and Anamika P K

Abstract

The BRICS Tourism Ministers’ Meeting under India’s 2026 Chairship concluded on 21 August 2026 with the adoption of the BRICS Tourism Ministers’ Communiqué 2026, known as the Jaipur Declaration, following Tourism Working Group meetings in May and August. Nine BRICS member states participated in the ministerial meeting, with four represented at the ministerial level and four by the Heads of Delegation, alongside India. The Declaration’s 15 clauses combine more specific areas of cooperation on travel facilitation, connectivity and digital technologies with broader commitments on artificial intelligence, sustainability, skilling, qualifications recognition and tourism exchanges (BRICS Tourism Ministers, 2026). The central challenge is implementation. Tourism is delivered largely through businesses, local communities and workers, while the Declaration relies substantially on voluntary cooperation, national priorities and available resources. The key task for India is therefore to convert the more concrete commitments into working arrangements while giving its broader priorities enough institutional structure to survive the transition to China’s chairship in 2027.

Keywords: BRICS, tourism cooperation, Jaipur Declaration, India’s Chairmanship, artificial intelligence, sustainable tourism, Global South

Introduction

While finance and trade have been prominent areas of BRICS cooperation, tourism provides a more direct channel for people-to-people engagement, shaping how easily travellers obtain visas, access direct flights, and use digital services across member states. The Jaipur Declaration builds on this potential by positioning tourism as a means of strengthening cultural understanding, people-to-people connectivity, and opportunities for local communities (BRICS Tourism Ministers, 2026).

India attached a domestic development argument to this approach. Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat linked tourism with India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 goal, arguing that it can extend growth beyond major economic centres to towns, villages and remote regions. He specifically identified hotels, homestays, taxi operators, guides, artisans, weavers, farmers, entrepreneurs and families whose livelihoods are directly or indirectly connected with tourism (Ministry of Tourism, 2026c).

The Minister also highlighted India’s efforts to build a tourism ecosystem that is economically prosperous, environmentally responsible, technologically enabled and culturally authentic. Emphasising tourism’s people-to-people dimension, he noted, “Tourism ultimately connects people. It creates opportunities for communities, enables cultural exchange and allows citizens of our countries to understand one another beyond the formal relationships between governments” (Ministry of Tourism, 2026).

The Jaipur Declaration therefore combines tourism diplomacy with economic development, technological change and sustainability. Its significance, however, depends on whether broad commitments can be translated into mechanisms that produce measurable results.

Context / Background

India’s BRICS Tourism Track developed through a sequence of Working Group meetings before culminating in Jaipur. The first BRICS 2026 Tourism Working Group meeting was held virtually on 25 May 2026. It established four thematic priorities: Artificial Intelligence and Tourism; Sustainability and Responsible Tourism; Tourism Skilling and Capacity Building; and Tourism Exchanges and Seamless Travel Facilitation (Ministry of Tourism, 2026a).

The second Working Group meeting was held in Jaipur on 19 August and chaired by Tourism Secretary Bhuvnesh Kumar. It focused on sustainability, skilling, seamless travel and smart tourism and provided the basis for the ministerial meeting. A technical visit to Hawa Mahal, City Palace and Amer Palace was also scheduled for 20 August (Ministry of Tourism, 2026b).

The Tourism Ministers’ Meeting was held in Jaipur on 21 August under the chairship of Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. It was conducted under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.” Nine BRICS member states participated. Brazil, Iran, South Africa and the UAE were represented by tourism ministers, while China, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Russia were represented by the Heads of Delegation. India’s delegation included Tourism Secretary Bhuvnesh Kumar and Joint Secretary Harikishore S. (Ministry of Tourism, 2026c).

The meeting concluded with consensus adoption of the BRICS Tourism Ministers’ Communiqué 2026, the Jaipur Declaration. India also held bilateral meetings with Brazil, Iran, South Africa and the UAE. Traditional arts, crafts and community-based tourism initiatives were showcased, while the heritage visit to Hawa Mahal, City Palace and Amber Fort took place as a separate programme on 22 August (Ministry of Tourism, 2026c).

ANALYSIS

Geopolitical and Strategic Shifts

The Declaration’s treatment of connectivity has significance beyond tourism. Clause 4 calls for closer intra-BRICS tourism cooperation, including visa facilitation and an increase in direct flights among member states (BRICS Tourism Ministers, 2026). These are among the Declaration’s more concrete areas because progress can be assessed through changes in travel procedures and air connectivity.

This matters strategically because tourism can create regular contact among societies even when broader diplomatic relationships face constraints. Clause 11’s emphasis on travel marts, tourism forums and promotional events similarly provides relatively low-cost opportunities for recurring institutional and people-to-people contact.

The Declaration also places tourism within a wider civilisational framework. Clause 13 connects tourism cooperation with civilisational heritage, regional convergence, peace and sustainable security (BRICS Tourism Ministers, 2026). This is more ambitious than a narrow tourism-promotion agenda and reflects the broader use of cultural and people-to-people cooperation within BRICS diplomacy.

The representation pattern at Jaipur is also noteworthy, although it should not be interpreted automatically as evidence of different levels of commitment. Four participating countries sent tourism ministers, while four were represented by Heads of Delegation. The more important point is that the meeting created a ministerial platform through which tourism could be linked with wider BRICS priorities.

Economic Implications and Opportunities

The Declaration’s digital agenda creates opportunities beyond tourism promotion. Clause 5 supports responsible, safe and human-centred artificial intelligence and digital technologies for tourism planning, destination management, visitor services, multilingual communication and travel facilitation (BRICS Tourism Ministers, 2026). This gives AI a practical role in improving how destinations manage visitors and how travellers access information.

Clause 6 is particularly relevant because it addresses digital payment interoperability, subject to national frameworks. This moves digital cooperation closer to the visitor experience: a traveller should not only be able to enter a destination more easily but also be able to pay for services with fewer technological barriers (BRICS Tourism Ministers, 2026). Together, Clauses 5 and 6 suggest the possibility of a shared digital layer for tourism, although the Declaration does not establish a common payment platform or funded digital programme.

The economic agenda also extends to human capital. Clause 9 emphasises continuous skilling, reskilling and upskilling, alongside industry-academia partnerships and vocational training (BRICS Tourism Ministers, 2026). This is important because tourism competitiveness depends not only on infrastructure and technology but also on the availability of trained workers.

Clause 8 supports diversification into historical and cultural tourism, nature-based tourism, gastronomy and health tourism, alongside tourism investment, infrastructure and newer regenerative approaches (BRICS Tourism Ministers, 2026). These areas can create opportunities for smaller businesses and local communities. This complements Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat emphasis on tourism-linked livelihoods across hotels, homestays, transport, guiding, crafts and agriculture.

Challenges and Structural Impediments

The Declaration’s treatment of qualifications recognition illustrates the gap between ambition and implementation. Clause 10 encourages members, where feasible, to explore voluntary frameworks for tourism and hospitality qualifications and to exchange best practices (BRICS Tourism Ministers, 2026). This is softer than the connectivity commitments. Without a timeline or agreed framework, qualifications recognition could remain exploratory despite its potential importance for cross-border professional mobility.

The AI agenda has a similar limitation. While Clause 5 promotes responsible and human-centred AI, including attention to safety, ethics and data-related concerns, the Declaration does not create a common regulatory standard, review mechanism or reporting system (BRICS Tourism Ministers, 2026). Member states will therefore retain considerable discretion over implementation.

Sustainability presents the same institutional challenge. Clause 7 calls for tourism growth to be balanced with protection of ecosystems, biodiversity, cultural heritage and traditional knowledge (BRICS Tourism Ministers, 2026). These principles are important, but the Declaration does not establish common indicators or enforcement mechanisms for determining whether this balance has been achieved.

Clause 14 is more nuanced. It allows the Working Group to explore, on a voluntary basis, the sharing of best practices, subject to national priorities and available resources. At the same time, it tasks the BRICS Tourism Working Group with developing collaborative initiatives, exchange programmes and institutional capacity-building activities (BRICS Tourism Ministers, 2026). Thus, while much of the cooperation remains voluntary, the Working Group itself receives a clearer implementation role.

The Declaration does not specify a dedicated financing mechanism for implementing its tourism priorities. This leaves implementation dependent largely on national resources, existing institutions and the willingness of member states to develop specific programmes.

India’s Role and Strategic Imperatives

India’s tourism strength lies in the diversity it accommodates within a relatively compact geographical space. Its landscapes, cultures, heritage and communities offer distinct experiences across regions. This diversity gives India not only a strong tourism base but also an opportunity to use tourism as a vehicle for economic development, cultural exchange and people-to-people engagement.

India’s BRICS Chairship in 2026 provided an opportunity to extend this strength into a broader cooperation agenda. The Jaipur Declaration, adopted at the BRICS Tourism Ministers’ Meeting on 21 August 2026, focused on four priorities: AI and tourism; sustainability and responsible tourism; tourism skilling and capacity building; and tourism exchanges and seamless travel facilitation. Together, these priorities address key challenges affecting the sector’s future rather than limiting cooperation to tourism promotion.

Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat linked this approach to Viksit Bharat 2047, emphasising tourism’s economic potential alongside environmental responsibility. His framing points to a broader policy challenge: tourism-led growth will be sustainable only if technology and industry-academia linkages are matched by skilled human capital, community participation and protection of cultural and environmental assets.

The strategic challenge for India is therefore to move the Jaipur Declaration from broad commitments to implementable cooperation. The BRICS Tourism Working Group has been tasked with developing practical initiatives, exchange programmes and institutional capacity-building activities. India’s chairship will have greater significance if these mechanisms produce demonstrable outcomes and create continuity for tourism cooperation beyond 2026.

Policy Recommendations

Pilot visa facilitation and direct connectivity with willing BRICS partners: India should use the Declaration’s commitment to seamless travel facilitation to identify specific visa and connectivity barriers and develop time-bound pilot arrangements with willing member states.

Establish a technical working group on payment interoperability: Building on Clause 6, India should propose a technical mechanism to examine interoperability requirements, regulatory barriers and practical options for tourist-facing digital payments. This should explore interoperability between national payment systems while addressing cybersecurity, data protection and other regulatory concerns.

Develop a shared baseline for responsible AI in tourism: Building on the above points, the BRICS Tourism Working Group should develop voluntary baseline principles for the responsible use of AI in tourism, covering safety, data privacy, human-centred deployment and the protection of local workers and communities. This would give practical substance to the Declaration’s emphasis on safe, responsible and human-centred AI.

Advance mutual recognition of tourism and hospitality qualifications: India should move the Declaration’s exploratory language on qualifications towards a focused pilot for recognising selected tourism and hospitality qualifications among participating BRICS members. Starting with a limited set of qualifications would allow members to test equivalence, accreditation and implementation requirements before considering wider recognition.

Introduce a simple progress-tracking mechanism: India should propose that the Tourism Working Group periodically record key initiatives and developments under the four thematic priorities. This would strengthen continuity across chairships and help carry forward cooperation on AI, sustainability, skilling and seamless travel facilitation under China’s 2027 chairship.

Anchor early deliverables in diverse tourism products: India should use the Declaration’s emphasis on diverse tourism products to promote practical cooperation in areas such as gastronomy and health tourism. These initiatives could be linked to skills development, local employment and community participation, thereby connecting product diversification with the Declaration’s broader objectives of sustainable and inclusive tourism.

Conclusion

The Jaipur Declaration combines a smaller number of relatively concrete cooperation areas with a much broader set of commitments covering artificial intelligence, sustainability, workforce development, qualifications recognition, tourism exchanges and people-to-people connectivity. Its significance will therefore depend less on the adoption ceremony than on whether members translate these priorities into functioning programmes.

For India, the immediate priority is to translate the Declaration’s practical commitments—particularly on travel facilitation, connectivity and digital cooperation—into concrete working arrangements, while providing broader commitments on responsible AI, sustainability, skills and qualifications recognition with sufficient institutional structure to ensure their continuity beyond India’s chairship and into China’s in 2027.

The clearest test will be whether the BRICS Tourism Working Group can demonstrate measurable progress across these priorities, rather than allowing the Declaration to remain primarily a framework of shared intentions.

References

Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. (2026a, May 25). India chairs inaugural BRICS 2026 Tourism Working Group Meeting. Press Information Bureau. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2265100&reg=48&lang=2

Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. (2026b, August 19). 2nd BRICS 2026 Tourism Working Group Meeting Held in Jaipur. Press Information Bureau. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2301301&reg=48&lang=2

Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. (2026c, August 21). BRICS Tourism Ministers adopt Jaipur Declaration (Ministers’ Communique). Press Information Bureau.https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2302067&reg=48&lang=2

BRICS Tourism Ministers. (2026, August 21). BRICS Tourism Ministers’ Communiqué 2026 (Jaipur Declaration). Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. https://d2jiw2zrmmyqt8.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/22131647/Final-Jaipur-Declaration.pdf

About the Contributor

Ninchen Tamang is a Research & Editorial intern at Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI). She holds a Master’s degree in Political Science, with primary research interests spanning geopolitics, international relations, foreign policy, and South Asian studies.

Anamika P K is a Research and Editorial Intern at IMPRI. She is a postgraduate in Political Science from the University of Hyderabad and a graduate of Ramjas College, University of Delhi. Her research interests include feminist politics, gender, International Relations, Women, Peace and Security, political economy, sustainability, and governance. She is particularly interested in evidence-based, interdisciplinary research and policy analysis that connects questions of power, inequality, and lived experiences with more inclusive, gender-responsive, and socially just policy and governance.

Acknowledgement

The authors expresses sincere gratitude to the Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI) team for their expert guidance, constructive feedback, and continued support throughout the process. The author also extends sincere thanks to the reviewers, Madhuritha D, Ameya Sushilchandra Satam, Sandra Menon, Kaustav Majumdar for their valuable feedback and thoughtful insights.

Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organization.