Tourism is entering a new digital chapter. Artificial intelligence is no longer limited to the back end of travel platforms; it is increasingly becoming part of the traveller’s experience — helping people discover destinations, understand their context, and make more informed choices along the journey.
This shift was reflected across World Tourism Day 2026 celebrations in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, where conversations around digital transformation and artificial intelligence highlighted how technology could reshape the way destinations connect with travellers.
In Andhra Pradesh, World Tourism Day 2026 was hosted in Rajahmundry (Rajamahendravaram) on September 26 and 27 under the themes “The Godavari Calls” and “Digital Agenda & AI – Redesign Tourism,” in association with Andhra Pradesh Tourism.
At the event, Vishal Soni, Chief Strategy Officer, Explurger, participated in discussions around AI and digital tourism, highlighting the role of emerging technologies in moving tourism beyond conventional information-led discovery towards more contextual and personalised experiences.
The shift is significant. Travellers today have access to more information than ever, yet discovering the right information at the right moment can still require moving between maps, websites, social platforms and multiple travel services.
This is where conversational AI is beginning to create a new possibility.
NiVU, Explurger’s AI-powered travel companion, is designed to bring destination information and assistance into a more natural conversational experience. Travellers can interact with NiVU to explore destinations, attractions, local experiences, navigation, weather, translations and other travel-related information through conversation.
The technology becomes particularly relevant when AI moves beyond the smartphone and into the destination itself.
Through Explurger’s partnership with Andhra Pradesh Tourism, NiVU is being introduced across tourism destinations through QR-enabled digital touchpoints. Visitors can scan a QR code at participating locations and interact with the AI-powered travel companion to learn more about the destination and discover relevant experiences around them.
The approach effectively turns a conventional tourism touchpoint into an interactive layer of destination intelligence.
A visitor at a heritage site, temple, museum or other attraction can seek information about its history, discover nearby places, explore local experiences or ask questions based on their interests and available time. With support for more than 130 languages, the experience is also designed to make destination information more accessible to travellers from different linguistic backgrounds.
The same conversation around AI-led tourism continued at World Tourism Day 2026 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, held on September 27 under the theme “Digital Agenda & Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism.”
As the AI Partner at the event, Explurger showcased NiVU as an example of how conversational technology can create more interactive and contextual destination experiences.
Representing Explurger at the event, Manisha Manchanda, AVP – Strategic Partnerships, participated in conversations with tourism and industry stakeholders around the next generation of technology-led tourism.
NiVU QR Boards were also placed at the event, allowing participants to experience AI-powered destination discovery first-hand and see how a physical tourism touchpoint can become an interactive experience.
The participation of tourism leaders further underscored the growing interest in practical applications of AI within the sector, with Thiru. S. Rajesh Kumar, Minister for Tourism, Tamil Nadu, and Thiru. Raja Gopal Sunkara, I.A.S., Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation, experiencing NiVU at the event.
For destinations such as Tamil Nadu, where tourism spans centuries-old temples, heritage sites, beaches, hill stations, cuisine and diverse cultural experiences, AI opens up the possibility of making discovery more personalised.
A traveller interested in architecture may seek heritage experiences. Another may want local food, nature trails or photography spots. Conversational AI can help surface relevant information based on those individual interests rather than presenting every traveller with the same destination checklist.
For tourism authorities, the opportunity extends further. AI-enabled digital ecosystems can help connect visitors with destinations and tourism infrastructure while creating more accessible information touchpoints across the travel journey.
But technology does not replace what makes travel meaningful.
The people, stories, culture, food and local experiences remain at the heart of tourism. AI can simply make it easier for travellers to discover them, understand their significance and navigate their journey around them.
The developments showcased during World Tourism Day 2026 point towards a broader transition in the tourism industry — from static information to interactive destination experiences, and from generic discovery to more contextual assistance.
For Explurger, NiVU sits at the centre of this evolution, bringing conversational AI closer to travellers and creating a new digital layer around destinations. The future of tourism may not simply be about discovering more places. It could be about making every discovery more relevant, connected and intelligent.
And that is where the next chapter of travel is beginning — from discovery to intelligence.
