World Tourism Day 2026: Nepal’s richness deserves a place in the AI economy

This World Tourism Day, the official theme, “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism”, asks the sector to consider how artificial intelligence can support smarter, more inclusive and sustainable tourism. It also carries an important warning: digital progress matters only if its benefits reach travellers, workers, enterprises and communities.

For Nepal, this should be more than another global slogan. As travel planning increasingly moves from search boxes towards conversations with AI assistants, it raises a question of national competitiveness: Are we preparing tourism for the AI economy, or merely digitising old practices?