By P Krishna Kumar
New Delhi, Dec 29 (.) The year 2025 was not a great one for Indian tourism, with several adverse developments during the course of the year either hindering or undermining the sector’s real potential and prospects. While these challenges had a direct impact on international inbound travel to the country, robust domestic travel demand and Indians’ strong appetite for overseas travel helped the travel and tourism sector sail through 2025 with relative comfort.
The performance of a destination is largely measured by its ability to attract international visitors. On that count, India’s performance as a global tourism destination has not been very encouraging in 2025. If the quarterly and half-yearly figures of foreign tourist arrivals released by the Ministry of Tourism are any indication, inbound tourism to India witnessed a de-growth of over 10 per cent in the first half of 2025 compared to the corresponding period last year.
As against around 29 lakh foreign tourist visits during January-March 2024, the number declined to about 26 lakh in the same period of 2025. In the second quarter, between April and June, arrivals fell to 16.5 lakh from 20 lakh in 2024. The trend continued in the third quarter as well, with numbers dropping from 21.5 lakh in 2024 to 19.20 lakh during July-September 2025.
Despite hosting high-profile events such as the G20, which was touted as a game-changer for India’s global image and tourism prospects, inbound tourism is yet to return to pre-Covid levels.
Even before the hype surrounding the Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj, which broke all records in terms of footfall, could subside, the heinous terror attack on tourists in Kashmir, India’s leisure capital, shook the conscience of the nation and the world. The selective killing of 26 tourists by Pakistan-trained terrorists at Baisaran Valley in Pahalgam, known as ‘Mini Switzerland’, on April 22 was not just an attack on India’s sovereignty but also a direct assault on the revival of tourism in Kashmir.
The attack, followed by a gradual build-up of war clouds in the region, put brakes on travel and tourism, with several foreign countries issuing travel advisories for their citizens. This was followed by India’s retaliation — Operation Sindoor — on May 7.
Although tensions eased within a few days after India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire on May 10, the episode caused significant damage to traveller confidence.
Describing the Pahalgam attack as a direct blow to the country’s tourism industry, Ravi Gosain, president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), said it “shook the entire travel fraternity”. While domestic tourism bounced back quickly after the ceasefire announcement, international travel has yet to recover, he said.
As per the Tourism Ministry’s own admission, foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) were down by 12 per cent between January and September, Gosain pointed out. High airfares and prohibitive hotel room rates have further dampened prospects for inbound tour operators. “Foreign tourist arrivals not picking up is a major concern for our members,” he added.
The Air India flight crash that occurred a month after Operation Sindoor, in Ahmedabad on June 12, also dealt a heavy blow to aviation safety perceptions in India. The disastrous crash of AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad airport en route to London Gatwick, claimed around 260 lives and raised serious questions about aviation safety.
As the year drew to a close, the controversy surrounding the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) flight duty time limitation (FDTL) rules and their impact on IndiGo triggered an unprecedented crisis in Indian skies, leaving travellers and regulators alike in a tizzy.
The crisis began in the first week of December and peaked on December 5, forcing the government to review the FDTL norms. Although the rules were temporarily rolled back, it took nearly a week for operations to normalise.
Mass flight cancellations by the country’s largest airline caught travellers, tour operators, and event planners unawares, disrupting several high-profile weddings, conferences, and events across cities. “I had to arrange a special coach at a cost of nearly Rs 2 lakh from my own pocket to transport my Polish guests from Varanasi to Delhi so they could catch their onward flight,” said a leading tour operator from Kochi, Kerala.
On the policy front, the year saw the government almost entirely withdraw from overseas promotions of the ‘Incredible India’ brand. Allocation for international marketing hit an all-time low in the union Budget, sending an unequivocal message that domestic tourism is being prioritised over international tourism.
At a recent FICCI event in Delhi, union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat called for a shift in how India’s tourism growth is viewed. Responding to comparisons that portray India’s tourism performance poorly against other countries based solely on foreign tourist arrivals, the minister said such comparisons are irrelevant given India’s massive domestic travel base.
He pointed out that around nine crore people visited Ujjain last year, with Ayodhya and Varanasi recording similar numbers.
While inbound tourism remained sluggish, India’s outbound travel sector continued to grow at a healthy double-digit pace. India has emerged as a major source market for several global leisure destinations. According to government data, 30.89 million international departures were recorded from India in 2024, reflecting nearly 11 per cent growth over 2023.
Despite headwinds such as wars, natural calamities, depreciating currencies, and rising airfares, outbound travel continued to grow in 2025. Government figures indicate that nearly 25 million international departures were recorded between January and September 2025. Preferred destinations for Indian travellers include the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the US, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Often overlooked until 2019, the strength of India’s domestic tourism segment came sharply into focus in the post-Covid period. Hospitality players began recognising the spending power of Indian domestic travellers, who not only filled hotel rooms but also paid better rates than overseas guests. This shift strengthened the government’s resolve to slow international promotions and shut down overseas India Tourism offices.
Domestic tourist visits surged to 2.9 billion in 2024, registering growth of around 17.5 per cent over 2023. Largely driven by spiritual and pilgrimage travel, mega events like the Maha Kumbh and the religious fervour surrounding Ayodhya created fresh motivations for travel.
Beyond spiritual tourism, India’s growing economy and aspirational middle class have fuelled demand for niche segments such as weekend and extended weekend travel, wellness retreats, wedding tourism, and experiential travel.
While domestic and outbound segments continue to boom, tourism stakeholders have urged the government to urgently review its overseas marketing strategy so that the ‘Incredible India’ brand can regain lost ground globally in the coming year.
“Indian tourism had an interesting 2025. While domestic travel boomed, keeping hotels and airlines busy, inbound tourism continued to struggle with arrivals below expectations. Nevertheless, the industry remained active overall. I am personally optimistic about 2026, with positive signals from the government regarding a revival of global marketing efforts. I believe we will perform far better in the year ahead,” said Rajeev Kohli, Joint Managing Director of Creative Travel and a core committee member of the Services Exports Promotion Council (SEPC).
. KK PRS