World Tourism Day 2026 : AI Can Personalise Travel but Cannot Replace Human Hospitality, Experts Warn at Tourism Forum in RJS Webinar.
NEW DELHI.
While artificial intelligence and digital systems are rapidly streamlining ticketing, border clearance, and itinerary planning, the technology cannot substitute the human warmth central to hospitality and carries mounting risks of sophisticated cyber fraud, veteran tourism administrators and industry leaders warned at a national symposium on the occasion of World Tourism Day2026, 27 September.
Hon. Co-host of the program and Keynote Speaker Sunil Kumar Singh, former director at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and former diplomat, emphasized the intersection of digital adoption and cultural preservation. He observed that mobile applications, virtual reality tours, and unified digital payment platforms like UPI have significantly eased travel logistics for foreign and domestic visitors alike.
Drawing on his diplomatic postings in Guyana and Mauritius, Singh observed that international interest in India's spiritual and cultural roots remains profound, from the monuments established by early indentured Indian arrivals to sacred pilgrimage circuits. He urged outbound Indian travelers to independently verify travel arrangements and always maintain official contact with Indian diplomatic missions abroad to mitigate unforeseen travel hazards.
Speaking ahead of World Tourism Day theme " Digital Agenda and Artificial intelligence to Redesign Tourism" at the AKSBU- 655th session on 25th September organised by Uday Manna,Founder- National Convener of the RJS PBH -RJS Positive Media movement said that,the former senior officials from the civil aviation, external affairs, and tourism ministries, alongside cybersecurity specialists, debated the dual-edged impact of emerging technologies on global and domestic travel.
Dr. Subhash Goyal, founder and chairman of STIC Travel Group of Companies, cautioned travelers against blind dependence on automated algorithms, citing a surge in counterfeit travel websites, ticket scamming, and voice-cloning fraud. Goyal observed that while digital tools such as Google Maps and automated translation ease foreign travel, criminal networks are increasingly exploiting the same digital infrastructure.
Recalling the fallout during the pandemic when thousands of passengers were stranded by automated airline chatbots that failed to process cancellations and refunds, Goyal emphasized that travelers must double-check digital offerings against accredited tour operators and official government channels. Artificial intelligence can process data and manage routine queries, but it cannot express empathy, welcome a guest, or resolve a crisis on the ground, he said, pointing out that an over-digitised system risks eliminating the human connection that defines the concept of Atithi Devo Bhava.
Discussing the sector's recovery from the pandemic, Goyal stated that the travel industry survived without direct monetary bailouts largely due to personal financial resilience, asset liquidation, and a fundamental shift in consumer psychology. People realized that life is unpredictable, creating an unprecedented wave of domestic and international leisure travel that has stretched existing flight and hospitality capacity, he noted, adding that passport services had also improved markedly through automated processing handled by Tata Consultancy Services.
Outlining a systemic approach to technology, Gurmukh Singh Bawa, former general manager of the Airports Authority of India and secretary general of the Air Travellers Association, presented a four-pillar framework to redesign tourism through artificial intelligence: improving access, managing destinations, skilling small businesses, and targeted promotion.
Bawa argued that artificial intelligence should be leveraged to eliminate logistical bottlenecks through e-visas, chip-embedded passports, Digi Yatra contactless facial recognition, and real-time multilingual translation for travelers. At destinations, he proposed using predictive analytics and dynamic ticketing to prevent overcrowding and structural damage at sensitive heritage and pilgrimage sites, citing crowd control mechanisms at shrines like Vaishno Devi.
He stressed that small enterprises and homestays form the backbone of Indian tourism and should be empowered through single-window digital clearances and sensor-based infrastructure monitoring. Bawa framed the transition around people, planet, and prosperity, stating that future success lies not merely in higher tourist numbers, but in higher quality, sustainable tourism.
Addressing the technical implementation, Nikhilesh Mishra, senior IT consultant with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and former government IT officer, explained how artificial intelligence is shifting the sector from rigid mass tour packages to hyper-personalized itineraries. By assessing individual budgets, duration, and preferences for heritage, local cuisine, or photography, algorithms can assemble custom plans within minutes, he said.
Mishra highlighted the technology's capacity to serve as an interactive, multilingual digital guide at monuments, allowing visitors to access historical narratives in regional languages tailored even to children. Furthermore, he noted that search pattern analysis helps uncover lesser-known rural craft hubs and historic towns, spreading economic benefits beyond saturated tourist destinations. However, he maintained that technology remains merely an enabler and depends entirely on the judgment of the professionals deploying it.
Mrituanjay Mishra, former assistant director in the Ministry of Tourism, Govt.of India argued that no digital strategy can succeed without adequate physical infrastructure and clean, safe public environments. Modernization must not come at the cost of neglecting ancient heritage, he said, calling for closer collaboration among government bodies, private enterprises, and host communities.
During the interactive discussion, Sweety Paul, former senior manager at the India Trade Promotion Organisation, raised concerns regarding deceptive digital travel offerings and fake booking portals, asking how ordinary consumers can safeguard themselves. In response, Goyal advised travelers to verify all credentials against recognized bodies such as the International Air Transport Association and national tourism ministry rosters rather than clicking unverified promotional links.
In the World Tourism Day 2026 program, from the team for the Republic Day and Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Samman Samaroh 2027, RJS PBH Observer Deep Mathur, Co-founder RJS Binda Manna, Honorary In-charge of RJS Positive Branch Noida Uday Shankar Singh Kushwaha Ji, TRD27 members Sweety Paul, Neeti Arora, Brijnandan Prasad, Rajendra Singh Kushwaha, Mayank Raj, Sandeep Sahu, Akanksha, Dr. Munni Kumari, and along with them Vivek Kumar Singh, Sarika Arora etc. also joined the webinar.
Addressing another question raised by participant Neeti Arora regarding the environmental footprint, cybercrime risks, and employment disruption associated with rapid artificial intelligence adoption, Bawa countered that the Union government is actively examining regulatory guardrails at the highest levels to prevent digital misuse while preserving technological advantages. Mrituanjay Mishra added that while technology will continue to advance, human language and emotional understanding can never be fully captured by machine algorithms.
Uday Manna, founder of the RJS Positive Media movement, which hosted the virtual gathering, said the discussions would be documented across digital and print formats as part of an ongoing national public participation initiative leading up to an international cultural fortnight scheduled for January 2027.
Head Creative Team
RJS PBH
9811705015
BRICS Theatre Festival 2026 to Showcase Diverse Theatrical Traditions and Strengthen People-to-People Connections
New Delhi, 24 September 2026. (RJS POSITIVE MEDIA ) The Ministry of Culture, Government of India, will organise the BRICS Theatre Festival 2026 from 12 to 14 October 2026 in New Delhi under India’s BRICS Presidency 2026. The three-day festival, themed “Shared Stories, Shared Futures”, will bring together over 100 theatre practitioners, scholars, students and cultural representatives from nine BRICS Member and Partner Countries.
Briefing the media on the Festival, Shri Vivek Aggarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, highlighted its significance as an important cultural engagement under India’s BRICS Presidency and its role in advancing people-to-people connections through theatre.
The Festival builds on the Bhopal Declaration adopted at the BRICS Culture Ministers’ Meeting in August 2026, which emphasised greater cultural cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and stronger networks among artists and cultural practitioners. India also proposed a voluntary Artist Registry to facilitate such exchanges. The Festival carries this vision forward through performances and professional interactions among theatre practitioners from BRICS countries.
The significance of the Festival has also been recognised in the BRICS Leaders’ Declaration, which welcomed the Bhopal Declaration and noted initiatives aimed at strengthening cultural cooperation, cultural exchanges and people-to-people ties.
The Festival will feature participation from India, Thailand, Indonesia, Russia, Vietnam, Iran, South Africa, Kazakhstan and Ethiopia. India will showcase two theatre productions, while the participating countries will present productions reflecting their diverse languages, theatrical traditions and contemporary creative expressions. Russia will be represented by two theatre groups.
The Festival will be inaugurated at the National School of Drama on 12 October. Performances will be staged at prominent theatre venues in New Delhi, including the National School of Drama and its Abhimanch Auditorium and Sammukh Auditorium, along with Kamani Auditorium, LTG Auditorium and Meghdoot Theatre.
The Festival will showcase classical, contemporary and experimental forms of theatre. Interactive workshops and discussions involving directors, artistes and production teams will provide opportunities for exchange on artistic vision, performance traditions, acting methodologies, stagecraft and technical design.
The National School of Drama, an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture, will serve as the nodal agency for organising the Festival.
The BRICS Theatre Festival 2026 seeks to strengthen cultural cooperation and people-to-people connections among BRICS countries by bringing together artistes, theatre practitioners and audiences through a shared artistic platform.
Uday Kumar Manna
RJS POSITIVE MEDIA
8368626368.
www.rjspbh.com
National Ayurveda Day: Experts emphasized on biological clock, gut health and evidence-based Ayurveda.
Ayurvedic Scholars Stress Circadian Rhythm, Gut-Brain Link, and Evidence-Based Protocols at National Ayurveda Day Conclave
NEW DELHI
Medical researchers and Ayurvedic scholars called for aligning modern lifestyles with classical circadian rhythms, emphasizing that preventive healthcare depends on metabolic discipline, psychological balance, and empirical validation rather than indiscriminate medication.
Speaking at a national webinar organized by Uday Kumar Manna Founder National Convener of RJS PBH -RJS Positive Media on 23rd September to commemorate the eleventh National Ayurveda Day under the theme Ayurveda 2026 for a Healthy Tomorrow, clinicians from leading institutions warned against unguided self-medication and highlighted the physiological mechanisms linking digestive health to chronic systemic disorders.
RJS PBH Officials National Observer Deep Mathur & Hon.In-charge Positive Branch Noida Uday Shankar Singh Kushwaha were also present at this occasion.
Delivering the keynote address from Ireland, Dr. Yamini Bhushan Tripathi, former faculty member at the Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, presented laboratory and clinical perspectives on classical Ayurvedic principles. Dr. Tripathi observed that while the World Health Organization defined health in 1948 as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, ancient Ayurvedic treatises had long incorporated spiritual equanimity and sensory health, defined as the equilibrium of bodily humors, metabolic fire, and tissues alongside a cheerful state of the senses, mind, and soul.
Dr. Tripathi noted that modern biological tools increasingly corroborate classical concepts. Describing systemic stress through the triad of hurry, worry, and curry, he explained that continuous physical haste and excessive consumption of fried, processed foods trigger mitochondrial hyperactivity, generating free radicals that sustain low-grade chronic inflammation. Concurrently, anxiety elevates neurohormonal catecholamines, compounding the risk of early cardiovascular events and cellular damage.
Dr. Tripathi outlined the Ayurvedic requirement of syncing daily conduct with biological rhythms, noting that physiological functions fluctuate in distinct four-hour cycles governed by biological humors. He pointed out that the period between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., characterized by metabolic detoxification, is routinely disrupted by late-night eating, which severely impairs liver and cellular restoration. He argued that the regulation of conduct, sleep duration spanning four to five ninety-minute cycles, and preserving a four-hour gap between meals are fundamental to preventing metabolic toxicity.
Chief Guest Prof. Dr. M.B. Gaur, Director-Principal of Choudhary Brahm Prakash Ayurved Charak Sansthan, Government of NCT of Delhi, addressed the gathering as Chief Guest, underlining the institutional and policy frameworks advancing traditional medicine. Prof. Gaur stated that the Union Ministry of Ayush has geared its initiatives toward integrating traditional knowledge with rigorous scientific criteria. He explained that the primary objective of Ayurveda remains the maintenance of health in the healthy and the cure of disease in the afflicted.
Prof. Gaur cautioned the public against the consumption of refrigerated, stale, and excessively pungent or processed food, stating that Vedic literature categorized such foods as promoting distress and physical disease. He noted that the national health architecture is actively fostering research, standardization, and innovation to make traditional healing practices accessible from grassroots primary care to apex medical institutions, aligning with broader public healthcare priorities.
Dr. Mehra demonstrated the classical doctrine of dietary suitability, explaining that the nutritional impact of food changes according to processing, combination, quantity, climate, time, and the emotional state of the consumer. Using legumes as an example, she pointed out that while boiled whole green gram is light and easily digestible, frying it or turning it into dense confections makes it heavy, while sprouting increases nutrient density but requires significantly greater digestive capacity. She cautioned against consuming raw fruits on an empty stomach due to abrupt blood sugar spikes, recommending instead that seasonal fruits be consumed during the daytime following light staple meals.
Addressing widespread misconceptions regarding alternative medicine, Dr. Mehra refuted the notion that natural drugs are inherently devoid of adverse effects, asserting that any compound capable of therapeutic action can cause side effects if taken indiscriminately without professional medical supervision.
During an extensive technical question-and-answer session, participants raised clinically significant challenges regarding post-infectious immunity, metabolic dysfunction, and environmental factors.
Dr. Rashmi Choubey questioned the panel regarding persisting post-COVID immunological deficits and cellular exhaustion. Prof. Gaur advised complete adherence to seasonal, freshly prepared vegetarian meals while eliminating refrigerated leftovers. Expanding on the immunological response, Dr. Tripathi stated that persistent anxiety suppresses psychological vitality, which directly degrades immune resilience. He recommended the therapeutic use of turmeric and Indian gooseberry as functional dietary supplements to restore resistance against disease, alongside diaphragmatic breathing and structured breath retention to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, enhance heart rate variability, and facilitate metabolic recovery.
Addressing the gut-brain axis, Dr. Rahul Singh, a practicing psychiatrist from Banaras, inquired how the Ayurvedic concept of sluggish metabolic fire corresponds with contemporary clinical psychiatry. Dr. Mehra explained that impaired secretion of digestive enzymes leaves food undigested in the gastrointestinal tract, producing metabolic endotoxins termed ama, which migrate systemically to trigger chronic disease. Dr. Tripathi added that emotional stress directly restricts intestinal blood flow and digestive secretions through autonomic pathways. He noted that while carminative kitchen herbs like ginger, rock salt, and lemon can stimulate enzymatic activity, psychiatric and digestive stability ultimately depend on activating parasympathetic pathways through breath control and disciplined post-meal postures like Vajrasana.
Ishaq Khan, Rtd.Doordarshan official,Delhi a participant from the Chhattisgarh border region, questioned whether strict lifestyle guidelines apply equally to manual rural laborers who maintain active outdoor routines, while also seeking clarification on the occurrence of intensely bitter gourds. Prof. Gaur and Dr. Tripathi warned that when normally sweet vegetables such as bottle gourd or ridge gourd turn bitter, they develop toxic cucurbitacins and must be discarded immediately to prevent severe food toxicity.
Responding to a query by 68-year-old participant R.S. Kushwaha regarding frequent nocturnal urination linked to benign prostatic conditions, Prof. Gaur advised restricting fluid intake close to bedtime and ensuring sufficient rest. Dr. Tripathi and Dr. Mehra recommended pelvic floor exercises, including Kegel routines and specific postures such as Setu Bandhasana, Bhadrasana, and Gomukhasana, alongside regulated intake of traditional preparations like Gokhru under clinical supervision.
Participant Sweety Paul, former manager at Bharat Mandapam, discussed common urban practices including morning warm water intake, early dinners, and herbal supplements, prompting Dr. Tripathi to reiterate that restoring intrinsic digestive fire is far more effective for resolving chronic constipation than habitual reliance on commercial laxatives.
Convening the session, Uday Manna of RJS Positive Media stated that the webinar formed part of a nationwide series commemorating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. Paying tribute to ancient figures including Dhanvantari, Charak, and Sushruta on the occasion of the conclave, which also coincided with the birth anniversary of poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Manna announced upcoming health awareness initiatives including a National webinar on World tourism Day on 25th September, Co-host by Sunil Kumar Singh and a voluntary blood donation drive organized in collaboration with the Indian Red Cross Society Blood Centre New Delhi.
Following participants make the webinar Successfully namely Deep Mathur, Uday Shankar Singh Kushwaha, Binda Manna, Sweety Paul, Rajendra Singh Kushwaha, Niti Arora, Dr. Rashmi Choubey, Dr. Rahul Singh, Vicky Sharma, Shivam, Neeraj Joshi, Dr. Unnikrishnan S., Dr. Bamdev Tripathi (Singapore), Rajbala, Akanksha, Dr. Anushka, Rohan, Mayankaraj, Dinesh Mathur, Deepika Dagar, Prakriti Kumari, Vandana, Dr. Anurag Singh, Bholaram Dhakad and Chandraprakash etc.
Akanksha
Head Creative Team
RJS PBH
9811705015.