Decoding India's tourism potential
Domestic tourism continues to be the main driver of India’s tourism sector, the government today said ahead of the India National Tourism Day on January 25.
As per the data sourced by the Ministry of Tourism from states and UTs, India witnessed 2,509 million domestic tourist visits in 2023—a significant increase from 1,731.01 reported in 2022, “highlighting the growing trend of domestic travel”.
Domestic tourism plays a vital role in the growth and development of India’s tourism sector and “remains a significant driver of the industry”, says the ministry.
“As the nation continues to invest in tourism infrastructure and innovative programs, India is well-positioned to strengthen its status as a leading global tourism destination,” according to the statement posted ahead of the National Tourism Day.
However, while India’s domestic tourism and outbound travel are headed up, the same cannot be said about the inbound/foreign arrivals. Figures show that the international component of the tourism sector—a key revenue generator for any country—in India continues to struggle and is yet to revive to the pre-pandemic level.
Foreign tourists
The story about foreign tourists will be incomplete without Goa—a favourite with international travellers. According to reports published last year, foreign tourist footfall in Goa, which peaked at 8.5 million in 2019, fell to 1.5 million in 2023.
The decline in foreign tourist arrival has impacted the tourism sector—the mainstay of Goa’s economy—for which factors like “local taxi mafia, security, cost of services and infrastructure issues” are said to be responsible. In fact, social media has been buzzing with stories about “harassment by local taxi mafia in Goa”, adding to its woes.
Experts say, Goa is just a part of the big picture.
In 2023, India reported 18.9 million international arrivals but only half of them, around 9.2 million, were “actual foreign tourists”. The rest were all “people of Indian origin or NRIs visiting friends and family”.
India’s international visitor spending in 2023 was 14% lower than pre-pandemic levels, as per the World Travel and Tourism Council.
India 39th in Travel and Tourism Development Index
The government says that India “rose” to 39th place out of 119 countries in the WEF’s Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2024 and the “future looks even brighter with the tourism industry projected to contribute $512 billion to the nation’s GDP by 2028”.
“By 2030, India is expected to emerge as the fourth-largest global spender on tourism with an estimated expenditure of $410 billion”.
However, there is another side to the story.
According to a reply in Parliament in 2019, India’s TTDI ranking in 2019 was 34, meaning that in 2023, India dropped in the World Economic Forum’s travel and tourism rankings.
Quoting the TTDI 2024 report, Tourism and Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat told the Parliament last year that India ranked 39th among 119 countries.
In the index published in 2021, India was ranked 54th.
However, due to a revision in the WEF’s methodology, India’s 2021 rank was adjusted to 38th place.
There have been gains in the index since 2021 but in comparison to pre-COVID 2019, there is still a lot to catch up.
India—full potential
There are resources, cultural and geographical diversities, and ambition but India is yet to realise its true potential as a top tourism destination.
The index ranks India highly on natural resources and cultural and non-leisure resources. But apart from issues like pollution and perceptions regarding safety and health, experts say complex visa documentation also makes India a less attractive destination.
The year 2023 saw several countries earn substantial revenue from tourism, reflecting the sector’s recovery, generating high revenues from travellers after post-pandemic lockdowns.
For example, France received 100 million arrivals and tourist exports worth 79.5 billion dollars.
Turkiye received 55.16 million arrivals and exports worth $ 69.8 billion
According to webpage India Tourism Statistics, inbound tourism rose to 6.9 million visitors in 2022 and the increasing trend continued in 2023 with 9.3 million visitors.
However, this was still 17% less than 2019 (pre-pandemic).
In 2023, India welcomed a total of 1.7 billion visitors—9.2 million international tourists and 1.7 billion domestic travellers.
Still, 2019 was considered the peak year for both international and domestic travellers with 2.3 billion visitors, 25% greater than in 2023.
