The Future of Spiritual Tourism: Giresh Kulkarni's Vision for ITCX

ITCX 2025, often called the Mahakumbh of Temples, will take place from 17th to 19th February 2025 in Tirupati. This groundbreaking event will unite temples from 58 countries, representing Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji and Home Minister Amit Shah Ji, ITCX is set to be a global platform for spiritual and cultural collaboration, redefining the future of temple management and spiritual tourism. In conversation with Giresh Kulkarni—Founder of Temple Connect and ITCX (International Temples Convention & EXPO).

What was the inspiration behind creating the International Temples Convention and Expo (ITCX), and how do you see it impacting temple management globally?

Temples have always been civilisations' spiritual and cultural heartbeat, yet in the modern world, many struggle with administrative challenges, financial sustainability, and evolving devotee expectations. The inspiration behind ITCX was to create a dedicated knowledge-sharing platform where temples, religious institutions, and stakeholders could learn, collaborate, and innovate together. ITCX aims to standardise best practices in temple management, bridge the gap between tradition and technology, and establish a global network of temples that work collectively towards efficiency, sustainability, and enhanced devotee experience.

How does Temple Connect aim to bridge the gap between ancient spiritual practices and modern technology, and what's the success you have seen so far?

Temple Connect was founded to document, digitalise, and distribute temple knowledge, making sacred traditions accessible. We are structuring the temple ecosystem, integrating priests, rituals, and management with new-age digital solutions. As a devotional aggregator platform, we bridge tradition with technology, enhancing temple administration and devotee experiences. Our mission is to preserve heritage while modernizing accessibility, ensuring temples thrive in today’s world. Through initiatives like Smart Temples Mission, we assist temples in adopting AI-driven crowd management, digital donation platforms, sustainability projects, and streamlined administration practices. The response has been phenomenal-many temples have already embraced data-driven insights for pilgrimage planning, enhanced security, and seamless devotee services, proving that technology and tradition can coexist harmoniously.

With ITCX 2025 uniting temples from 58 countries, what are your expectations for the event's outcome, and how will it shape the future of spiritual tourism?

ITCX 2025 is a historic convergence of temple leaders, policymakers, and technology pioneers. The biggest expectation is global collaboration-temples worldwide will have the opportunity to learn from one another and adopt best practices in tourism, heritage conservation, and financial management. Given that religious tourism contributes significantly to GDP in many countries, ITCX will help temples leverage technology and governance models that improve infrastructure, promote sustainable tourism, and ensure cultural preservation. We foresee temples becoming key economic contributors while maintaining their spiritual sanctity.

As a renowned speaker and entrepreneur, how do you think the intersection of spirituality and technology will evolve in the next decade, and what role will ITCX play in this evolution?

The next decade will witness unprecedented advancements in temple technology-from AI-driven prediction models for crowd management to blockchain-based donation transparency. We are already seeing temples integrating AR/VR experiences for virtual pilgrimages, allowing devotees to experience darshan from anywhere in the world. ITCX will be at the forefront of this transformation, bringing together temple leaders and technology innovators to create sustainable and future-ready temples. The goal is simple-embrace technology without diluting tradition.

What message do you hope to convey through ITCX 2025, and how will it contribute to promoting cultural understanding and collaboration among different faiths?

Temples are not just places of worship but pillars of cultural identity and social harmony. The message of ITCX is collaboration over isolation-temples must learn, adapt, and support one another in their management practices. The event is not limited to Hindu temples alone; it includes Jain, Buddhist, and Sikh places of worship, fostering interfaith dialogue on preserving heritage, managing resources, and ensuring long-term sustainability. When temples evolve together, they strengthen not just faith but the entire spiritual tourism ecosystem.

With PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah appreciating ITCX, what does this recognition mean for the event's credibility and impact, and how will it influence future editions?

The recognition from India’s top leadership is a validation of ITCX’s mission and global relevance. It reinforces the idea that temples are integral to India's spiritual economy and that structured management, sustainability, and digital transformation are necessary for their continued impact. This endorsement further strengthens ITCX’s position as a global knowledge-sharing platform, paving the way for future collaborations, government partnerships, and policy-driven improvements in temple governance.