Jahnabi Phookan, RTSOI Convener for the North East
Jahnabi Phookan is the RTSOI Convener for the North East, a noted entrepreneur and social impact leader from Assam. She co-founded Jungle Travels India and Assam Bengal Navigation, served as National President of FICCI FLO (2020–21), and is widely recognized for her work in eco-tourism, handloom revival, and rural women’s empowerment.
Jahnabi Phookan, as Chair of the BRICS India Women’s Business Alliance Tourism Working Group for 2026, led a platform that united women entrepreneurs, tourism leaders, and business stakeholders across BRICS nations to shape a more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient tourism ecosystem.
She emphasized tourism’s role as a catalyst for economic growth, employment generation, and cultural exchange, while highlighting the challenges faced by women-led enterprises operating at the micro or informal level. Under her leadership, the Working Group developed a three-pillar framework to strengthen women’s participation and leadership in tourism:
1. Empowering Women-Led Tourism Enterprises through Digital Innovation and Formalisation
2. Building Safe and Inclusive Tourism Ecosystems for Women Travellers
3. Advancing Experiential and Rural Tourism through Digital Innovation
Her vision underscored the transformative potential of AI and digital technologies in enabling women entrepreneurs to formalise, scale, and compete effectively. She also championed technology-enabled safety infrastructure, rural tourism development, and cross-border collaboration among BRICS nations through knowledge exchange and capacity building.
Phookan’s leadership articulated a shared BRICS vision: harnessing digital innovation responsibly, strengthening women’s entrepreneurship, and unlocking the potential of experiential and rural tourism. She affirmed that the future of tourism must be inclusive by design, moving women from participation to leadership and from informal enterprise to recognised