World Tourism Day celebrated in The IIHM way
Students across IIHM campuses celebrate tourism through culture, creativity, AI, culinary innovation and sustainable ideas
Tourism came alive across IIHM campuses as students celebrated World Tourism Day 2026 through a vibrant mix of culture, creativity, technology, culinary innovation and sustainability.
Observed every year on September 27, World Tourism Day highlights the importance of tourism in connecting people and cultures and its wider social and economic impact. This year’s theme, “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism,” puts the spotlight on how AI and digital innovation can shape a more inclusive, sustainable and human-centred future for tourism.
At IIHM, the theme found its way into classrooms, clubs, kitchens and creative spaces, with students exploring what the future of tourism could look like through their own ideas and experiences.
Celebrating India Through Rhythm and Culture
At the IIHM Kolkata campus, the Cultural Club presented “Rhythm Reimagined: India in the Digital Age”—a colourful celebration of India’s cultural diversity and its connection with the digital world.
Students performed dances representing different states of India, bringing together diverse music, movements and traditions on one stage. While the students came from different regions and backgrounds, the performance celebrated the idea that India’s cultural diversity becomes even more powerful when experienced together.
Adding a digital dimension, students used AI to explore popular songs and cultural references from different states and develop their performances and choreography. The result was an energetic celebration that had the IIHM community singing, dancing and vibing along.
From Posters to Perspectives
The Thinkers’ Circle Club brought students together through a Tourism Quiz and Poster-Making Competition, encouraging them to explore tourism beyond travel and destinations.
A special Talk Show on “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism” also invited students to think about how emerging technologies can transform the way destinations are discovered, experiences are designed and tourism businesses operate.
The discussions encouraged students to look at AI not simply as a technology tool, but as a force that can reshape the future of the tourism industry.
Where AI Meets the Culinary World
For IIHM’s culinary students, World Tourism Day became an opportunity to experiment with the intersection of food, technology and sustainable tourism through the AI-Powered Culinary Challenge.
Students were challenged to combine their culinary skills with AI-enabled ideas to create innovative food concepts while exploring the possibilities of zero-waste cooking, smart food practices and sustainable gastronomy.
The Food Waste to Business Challenge further encouraged students to look at food waste differently—not simply as something to discard, but as a potential source of creativity, entrepreneurship and value.
Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism
As part of IIHM’s World Tourism Day 2026 celebrations, a global webinar brought together leading voices from hospitality, tourism, technology and education for an engaging panel discussion on “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism.” Setting the context, Dr Suborno Bose said that tourism is “part of our DNA” and has always been integral to IIHM’s journey, including through the Young Chef Olympiad.
Highlighting the growing role of AI and the digital ecosystem in tourism and hospitality, he emphasised that hospitality remains a deeply human industry that represents our biggest emotions. He stressed the need to teach young people not only how to use AI, but how to intelligently and responsibly to govern it, with the right ethics and guardrails.
Speaking about the Global AI in Hospitality Education Council (GAIHEC), he underlined its role as a global platform bringing educational institutions together and advancing responsible AI governance. “The question is not only, ‘Can AI do this?’ but ‘Should AI do this?’” he said, adding that in tourism and hospitality, AI will assist us, but never substitute us.
The keynote by Prof. David Foskett further reinforced the importance of using AI with “authentic integrity” while understanding people, hospitality and culture. Moderated by Mr Sujay Gupta, the panel featuring Prof. Peter Jones, Mr Vicky Chauhan, Mr Stefan Pettersson, Mr Rohit Khosla and Mr Himanshu Sharma explored what AI is already changing across tourism—from predicting demand and managing billions of customer touchpoints to improving decision-making, access to learning and the realities of running hotels.
The session also featured an Indismart AI Technologies Tourism Knowledge Capsule, bringing storytelling and technology together to explore the evolving digital landscape of tourism.
Discovering Kolkata’s Hidden Gems
Tourism is not always about the destinations everyone already knows. Sometimes, it is about discovering the stories hiding in plain sight.
The Lens & Light Club of IIHM Kolkata is taking this idea forward through “Discovering Kolkata’s Hidden Gems, Capturing Untold Stories.” Students are exploring lesser-known locations across the city, capturing photographs and stories that showcase another side of Kolkata.
Through their cameras, students are turning into young tourism storytellers—looking beyond the popular attractions to discover the neighbourhoods, heritage, people and places that make the city unique.
Together, these activities reflected the changing face of tourism—where culture meets technology, hospitality meets innovation, and creativity meets sustainability.
For IIHM students, World Tourism Day was more than a celebration. It was an opportunity to ask an important question: What will tourism look like tomorrow—and how can we help shape it today?
Through their ideas, performances, photographs, culinary creations and digital experiments, IIHM students are beginning to find their own answers.
