The BRICS Tourism Ministers' Meeting concluded in Jaipur on August 21, 2026, with the adoption of the BRICS Tourism Ministers' Communiqué 2026, known as the Jaipur Declaration. This framework establishes enhanced tourism cooperation among the nine BRICS Member States under India's Chairship, operating under the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability."
The meeting was chaired by Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and included ministerial participation from Brazil (Mr. Gustavo Costa Feliciando), Iran (Mr. Reza Salehi Amiri), South Africa (Ms. Patricia De Lille), and United Arab Emirates (H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri), along with Heads of Delegation from China, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Russia. The Indian delegation included Shri Bhuvnesh Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, and Shri Harikishore S., Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism.
The Jaipur Declaration reflects work undertaken through the BRICS Tourism Working Group around four thematic priorities: Artificial Intelligence and Tourism; Sustainability and Responsible Tourism; Tourism Skilling and Capacity Building; and Tourism Exchanges and Seamless Travel Facilitation. The communiqué recognizes the transformative potential of responsible, safe and human-centred Artificial Intelligence and digital technologies in tourism and supports cooperation in tourism planning, destination management, visitor services, multilingual communication and travel facilitation.
Additionally, the declaration emphasizes sustainable and community-centred tourism, protection of natural and cultural heritage, tourism investment and infrastructure, development and promotion of diverse tourism products, continuous skilling and upskilling, industry-academia partnerships, exchange of tourism data and statistics, sharing of best practices and stronger people-to-people connectivity among BRICS Member States.
Union Minister Shekhawat highlighted tourism's important role in India's journey towards Viksit Bharat by 2047, noting its unique ability to take growth beyond major economic centres to towns, villages and remote regions. He emphasized that tourism creates opportunities for hotels and homestays, taxi operators, guides, artisans, weavers, farmers, entrepreneurs and millions of families whose livelihoods are directly or indirectly connected with the sector. India is building a tourism ecosystem that is economically prosperous, environmentally responsible, technologically enabled and culturally authentic.
On the sidelines, India held bilateral meetings with Brazil, Iran, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates to further tourism cooperation. Ministers and delegates were also provided curated experiences showcasing traditional arts, crafts and community-based tourism initiatives, with a scheduled visit to Jaipur's iconic heritage attractions including Hawa Mahal, City Palace and Amber Fort on August 22, 2026.