Technological Innovation and AI for Sustainable Development in Events and Festivals

From sustainable event planning to the influence of VR, AI, and mobile applications on tourist behavior, this book explores the dynamic landscape where innovation meets tradition. It studies the intersection of green technologies, sustainable infrastructure, and the delicate balance between cutting-edge tools and the intrinsic emotional aspects of human engagement.

Aligned with the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the book highlights AI's potential to drive meaningful contributions to a sustainable future. It anticipates the imminent transformation of festivals and events through technological innovation and AI implementation. It will allow the reader to gain insights into how automation streamlines logistics, optimizes marketing efforts, and enhances the overall attendee experience.

The book offers readers:

• A cutting-edge exploration of the transformative impact of technologies and artificial intelligence on the events and tourism industries.
• Oversight of how new technology can align with the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals - readers can anticipate insights into how AI can contribute meaningfully to understanding and addressing pressing global challenges.
• Practical insights for stakeholders including actionable insights that go beyond theory.

It will be an essential reference for academic researchers and practitioners within events and tourism management.

Dr. Anukrati Sharma is the Associate Professor of the Department of Commerce and Management at the University of Kota (A State Govt. University) in Kota, Rajasthan, India. She is the Director of the Skill Development Centre of the same University. She is also Dean (Honorary) of Tourism and Hospitality at Vishwakarma Skills University, Jaipur (A Govt. State University). She worked three years( 06 Jan.2021- 06 Jan.24) as the Head of the Department of Commerce and Management, University of Kota. In 2015, she received a Research Award from the University Grants Commission(UGC), New Delhi, for her project "Analysis of the Status of Tourism in Hadoti and Shekhawati Region/Circuit (Rajasthan): Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Prospects." Her doctorate from the University of Rajasthan is in Tourism Marketing, and she completed her dissertation research on Tourism in Rajasthan--Progress &Prospects. She has two postgraduate degree specialties --one in International Business (Master of International Business) and the other in Business Administration (Master of Commerce). Her special interest areas are Tourism, Tourism Marketing, Strategic Management, and International Business Management. She is appointed as the Official Partner of the BRICS (DUT) Funded Project for the years 2022-2024 i.e. (BRICS Research Institute Grant Project Ref: BRI22/1215) titled " Growth and Sustainability of Livelihoods in the BRICS Countries : Knowledge Sharing in Social Justice, Governance, Multilateralism". Dr. Sharma is a Routledge featured author. Dr. Sharma is the Book Series Editor for "Building the Future of Tourism" published by Emerald Publishing. U.K. She is also the Book Series Editor of " Routledge Insights in Tourism Series", Routledge, U.K. She also serves as Book Series Editor for " CABI Festival and Event Tourism and Hospitality Series(FETHS) and " Perspectives and Anthropology in Tourism and Hospitality (PATH)", Apple Academic Press (CRC Press a Taylor and Francis Group). She has edited books on Tourism--Opportunities and Ventures, on Maximizing Business Performance and Efficiency through Intelligent Systems, under IGI Global( Scopus Indexded) , Tourism Sustainable Tourism Development Futuristic Approaches under Apple Academic Press (CRC Press a Taylor and Francis Group), USA under the series Advances in Hospitality and Tourism and book titled Tourism Events in Asia Marketing and Development Routledge, USA under Advances in Events Research Series, Sustainable Destination Branding and Marketing: Strategies for Tourism Development under CABI, UK, Future of Tourism: An Asian Perspective, under Springer, Singapore, Over-tourism as Destination Risk: Impacts and Solutions Emerald Publishing U.K. ( Scopus Indexded) under the Tourism Security - Safety Series , Over-tourism, Technology Solutions and Decimated Destinations, Springer, Singapore, Event Tourism in Asian Countries: Challenges and Prospects under Apple Academic Press ( Taylor and Francis Group), USA ( Scopus Indexded) and The Emerald Handbook of ICT in Tourism and Hospitality under Emerald Publishing U.K. She also authored a book entitled "Event Management and Marketing Theory, Practical Approaches and Planning." Another book she wrote is entitled "International Best Practice in Event Management" and it was published by United Kingdom Event Industry Academy Ltd and Prasetiya Mulya Publishing, Indonesia. Her current projects include editing a book on "COVID-19 and Tourism Sustainability: Ethics, Responsibilities, Challenges and New Directions" for Routledge, USA, "Festivals and Event Tourism: Building Resilience and Promoting Sustainability" for CABI, UK , The Emerald Handbook of Destination Recovery in Tourism and Hospitality, Emerald Publishing, UK, COVID-19 and the Tourism Industry: Sustainability, Resilience & New Directions Routledge, UK ( Scopus Indexded),Event Tourism & Sustainable Community Development: Advances, Effects and Implications, Apple Academic Press, USA, Crisis, Resilience and Recovery in Tourism and Hospitality Springer Nature, Singapore , Strategic Tourism Planning for Communities: Restructuring and Rebranding, Emerald Publishing, Dynamics of Tourism Industry Post-Pandemic and Disasters, Apple Academic Press, USA and Resilient and Sustainable Destinations after Disaster: Challenges and Strategies, Emerald Publishing, UK. She is also working on a Major Research Project under Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development Government of India. A member of 7 professional bodies, she has attended a number of national and international conferences and presented 45 papers. She has been invited as Keynote , Speaker , Panel member by different countries such as Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Nepal, Malaysia, Indonesia and Turkey. She has been invited as Visiting Professor at Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Dr. Jeetesh Kumar is Head of Research Senior at the Faculty of Social Sciences & Leisure Management, Senior Lecturer at the School of Hospitality, Tourism and Events, Associate Director for Information Management & Documentation at the Centre for Research, and Innovation in Tourism (CRiT), and also Hub Leader - of "Responsible Tourism for Inclusive Economic Growth" hub under Sustainable Tourism Impact Lab at Taylor's University, Malaysia. His doctorate is from Taylor's University in Hospitality and Tourism, with research on the Economic Value of the Business Events Industry in Malaysia. Jeetesh has two postgraduate degree specialities: a Professional Master's in Hospitality Management and International Tourism from the University of Toulouse, France and another in Business Administration (MBA - Marketing) from Hamdard University, Pakistan. His research areas include Economic Impacts, Economic Modelling, MICE, Medical Tourism, and Behavioural Studies. He has worked on consultancy and research projects at the national/ international level and authored 60 publications, including research articles and book chapters. 12 Postgraduate students (Masters and PhDs) have graduated under his supervision, and currently, he is supervising 11 PhD scholars. He is also active in several national and international associations, conferences, and journals. He is also an associate editor for the Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism (APJIHT) and regional editor of Event Management Journal, Co-editor for two books under CABI and Emerald, and currently editing five books under CABI, Emerald, Springer and Taylor & Francis. Recently, he has offered webinars/ guest speeches for universities in the Philippines, India, Japan, Indonesia, China, Australia, and Pakistan.

Dr. Shruti Arora, currently working as an Assistant Professor (Guest Faculty) in the Department of Commerce and Management, University of Kota, Kota, Rajasthan, India. She had an experience of 14 years in education industry. Her core subjects are Marketing, General Management, International Business and Customer Relationship Management. She has attended various International Conferences and her publication includes various chapters in edited book like Routledge, Emerald, Springer and research papers in National and International UGC approved and peer-reviewed journals. She has authored a book on "Event Management and Marketing: Theory, Practical Approaches and Planning" with ISBN: 978-93-86608-61-1 in 2018 that is recommended and approved as a learning resource by CBSE, Department of Higher Educations, Government of M.P (Achievement) and two edited under Apple Academic Press, CRC. She is working as a Co-PI with Dr. Anukrati Sharma on a Major Research Project under Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development Government of India. She is appointed as the BRICS Community of Practice (CoP) Researcher for promoting cross-BRICS nations' collaborations in co-authorship, co-supervision, co-examining, co-publishing in DHET and SCOPUS Accredited Journals, co-conferencing participation and hosting rotating BRICS workshops, seminars and guest lectures in the academic years 2023 and 2024. She has also been appointed as an External and Internal examiner for Viva-voce for graduation and post-graduation students.

Dr Mohammad Badruddoza Talukder is an Associate Professor and Chairman of the College of Tourism and Hospitality Management at IUBAT, Dhaka. With over 16 years of academic and industry experience, he holds a PhD in Hotel Management from Lovely Professional University, India. His research focuses on AI, IoT, smart tourism and sustainable hospitality. He has authored 130+ publications with over 41,000 reads and 800+ citations. Dr Talukder serves as editor for IGI Global, Emerald, CABI and others, and has co-edited several books on technology-driven tourism. He is ranked #1 in Tourism and Hospitality at IUBAT and among the top 2% of researchers in Bangladesh (AD Scientific Index 2025). He regularly speaks at global conferences and collaborates internationally. He is also an Executive Member of the Tourism Educators Association of Bangladesh and an Honorary Facilitator at the Tourism Board's training institute.

Prof. Dr Sanjeev Kumar Is a Professor in Lovely Professional University Punjab India. He received his undergraduate degree in Hotel Management from Osmania University, and his postgraduate in Tourism Management from Madurai Kamaraj University. He completed his PhD in Hospitality Management in 2019 from Amity University Jaipur India. His research area lies in the food service industry, with a focus on alcoholic beverages, event management and sustainable management practices, metaverse, machine learning and artificial intelligence. He has published more than 80 research papers, articles and chapters in Scopus-indexed, UGC-approved and peer-reviewed journals and books. Dr Kumar participated and acted as resource person and session chair in various national and international conferences, seminars, research workshops and industry talks and his work has been widely cited. Dr Kumar also edited more than 20 books with various international publishers such as IGI Global, Cambridge Scholars, Emerald, Bentham Science, Taylor & Francis. He has been a reviewer of various national and international journals and also delivers guest lectures at academic conferences and faculty development programmes.