More Than 60 Nations Unite as IIHM Launches GAIHEC, the World's First Global AI Hospitality Education Council

What the report says

BusinessLine, carrying a PRNewswire release in its Brandhub section, reported that the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) launched the Global AI Hospitality Education Council (GAIHEC) on July 16, 2026. The announcement was tied to World AI Day and said the council brings together hospitality educators, universities, industry representatives and institutions from more than 60 countries to focus on artificial intelligence in hospitality, culinary arts and tourism education.

According to the report, GAIHEC is being presented as an international council dedicated to responsible, ethical and industry-specific AI education for hospitality. Its planned areas of work include curriculum standards, ethical AI guidance, faculty development, research activity and cross-border academic partnerships. IIHM said the initiative builds on earlier efforts such as NamAIste, described in the release as an AI platform for hospitality education.

The report named several figures associated with the launch, including IIHM founder and chief mentor Dr. Suborno Bose; Prof. David Foskett, chairman of the UK-based International Hospitality Council; Anita Mendiratta, special adviser to the UN Tourism secretary-general; NSN Mohan of SKÅL International; Kush Kapoor of Roseate Hotels & Resorts; Prof. James Edmunds of the University of West London; and chef John Wood of KitchenCUT. Their remarks, as described in the release, emphasized using AI to improve training, operations and guest experience while preserving hospitality’s human focus.

BusinessLine reported that GAIHEC will operate through a three-part structure: a governing board chaired by IIHM, an academic senate linked to hospitality and culinary institutions from Young Chef Olympiad member nations, and an industry and patron advisory board. The release said onboarding had begun in countries including Uganda, Nepal, Jordan, Bangladesh and the UAE.