Kolkata, May 25 : There is a question the hospitality and tourism sector has been sitting with for some time now, and the School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts, Bhawanipur Global Campus decided it was worth bringing into the room. On 8th and 9th May 2026, the School organised a two-day National Management Development Programme built around a theme that was direct and deliberately unsettled: "Human Talent in the Global Tourism Ecosystem: Replaceable by Evolving AI or Empowered by It?"
Tourism and hospitality have always been industries where the human element is the product. The warmth of a reception, the instinct of a good guide, and the judgement of a chef who reads a table before they read a menu - these are things the sector has built its reputation on, and they are precisely what makes the conversation around AI feel both urgent and complicated. The MDP did not set out to resolve that tension so much as to take it seriously, bringing together academics, industry professionals, students, and scholars for two days of keynote sessions, deliberations, and the kind of honest exchange that happens when people with genuinely different perspectives sit in the same room.
The programme brought together four keynote speakers who between them covered a lot of ground. Prof. Dr. S.C. Bagri, Former Vice Chancellor of Himgiri Zee University, Former Director of CMTHS at HNB Garhwal University in Srinagar Garhwal, and a UNESCO member, has spent decades at the intersection of tourism policy and academic leadership. Ms. Sowmya Sengupta, Director of Learning and Development for East and North-East India at Taj Group of Hotels , came from inside one of India's most recognised hospitality organisations. Dr. Anil Kumar Tamta, Assistant Professor in the Department of Tourism Management at Indira Gandhi National Tribal University in Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh, brought an academic grounding in regional and community tourism that added a dimension the conversation genuinely needed. Mr. Kausik Ghosh, Regional Manager for East Zone India at Bahrain Financial Corporation, looked at the sector through a financial and industry strategy lens. It was a considered mix of voices and the discussions were better for it.
Students sat alongside scholars and faculty throughout both days, and that mix gave the sessions a quality that more conventional academic settings rarely produce. The participation was enthusiastic, the range of viewpoints genuine, and the conversations were richer for the disagreement in the room.
"Hospitality and tourism are industries where human capability has always been the differentiator. An MDP of this nature gives our students the opportunity to engage with that question in the company of people who are navigating it professionally every day. That kind of exposure is exactly what we believe education in this field should look like"said, Gautam Ganguly Professor,School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts, Bhawanipur Global Campus.
The School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts at Bhawanipur Global Campus offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Hospitality and Hotel Administration, Travel and Tourism Management, and Culinary Science. Students have access to international paid internships and placements with recognised national and international brands, with the programme built around the understanding that industry readiness develops through real exposure rather than classroom preparation alone. The focus on hands-on learning, global internship experience, and strong industry integration ensures that graduates leave with the professional confidence, cultural fluency, and practical skills that careers in hospitality and tourism genuinely demand.