India has the potential to emerge as one of the world’s leading tourism destinations, but achieving that ambition will require bold policy reforms, stronger infrastructure, easier visa access and sustained global marketing, according to industry leaders and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
The call for urgent action came at the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality’s (FAITH) two-day conclave, held under the theme Incredible India: Invaluable Economics at Hotel Taj Palace, New Delhi, from July 16-17. During the event, FAITH unveiled its Tourism Growth Charter, a roadmap outlining the policy interventions the industry believes are essential to transform India into a global tourism powerhouse.
The recommendations come at a time when India has set an ambitious target of increasing travel and tourism’s contribution to the economy to 10 per cent of GDP and expanding annual foreign tourist arrivals from around 10 million at present to 100 million by 2047.
Speaking at the conclave, Gloria Guevara, president and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), said India remains significantly underrepresented in global tourism despite possessing one of the world’s richest combinations of heritage, culture, spirituality, nature and gastronomy.
“I don’t think India has its fair share of the global tourism market considering the size of the country and the diversity of experiences it offers,” she said, urging policymakers to remove structural bottlenecks that continue to limit the country’s international tourism growth.
FAITH chairman Puneet Chhatwal echoed similar concerns, noting that while domestic tourism has witnessed exceptional growth since the pandemic, inbound tourism continues to lag behind India’s true potential.
“India currently receives nearly 10 million foreign visitors annually, which is far below what the country is capable of attracting. Paris alone welcomes around 25 million international tourists every year. Granting infrastructure status to tourism will enable businesses to access long-term finance at competitive rates and accelerate investment across the sector,” Chhatwal said.
According to the Ministry of Tourism’s India Tourism Data Compendium 2025, the sector currently contributes 5.22 per cent to India’s GDP, including a direct contribution of 2.72 per cent.
FAITH’s Tourism Growth Charter calls for granting infrastructure status to the tourism industry, launching an aggressive global promotion campaign under the Incredible India brand, expanding e-visa coverage, simplifying entry procedures for international travellers and rationalising taxation in line with global benchmarks.
The industry body has also urged the government to fast-track the development of the 50 tourism destinations announced earlier while investing in last-mile connectivity, convention centres, cruise terminals, digital infrastructure and wayside amenities to strengthen the country’s tourism ecosystem.
Hotel Association of India (HAI) president KB Kachru said coordinated action between industry and government would be critical to achieving India’s long-term tourism ambitions.
“The member associations of FAITH, together with the central and state governments, are working to identify and implement measures that will position India among the world’s leading tourism destinations. Alongside infrastructure development, India also needs a far more aggressive international marketing strategy and greater investment to fully capitalise on its tourism potential,” he said.
Addressing delegates, Union minister for tourism and culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said the government’s vision is to establish India as one of the world’s foremost experiential tourism destinations. He also announced that Destination Management Authorities are being developed across the country to ensure tourist destinations are managed in a safe, sustainable and professional manner.
WTTC’s latest global data highlighted both the opportunities and the challenges facing India’s tourism sector.
International overnight arrivals reached a record 1.54 billion globally in 2025, an increase of 82 million travellers over the previous year, while the global travel and tourism sector expanded by 4.1 per cent, comfortably outpacing overall global GDP growth of 2.8 per cent.
India’s travel and tourism economy also performed strongly, growing by 7.3 per cent during 2025. However, the country lagged behind China, which recorded 9.9 per cent growth, while Japan’s tourism economy expanded by 4.6 per cent.
Despite healthy domestic demand, India’s international tourism performance weakened during the year. Global international visitor spending crossed US$2.02 trillion in 2025, but India experienced an 8 per cent decline in foreign visitor spending to US$33 billion. By comparison, China registered growth of 10.5 per cent, while South Korea recorded an 11.6 per cent increase.
Guevara attributed the decline to a combination of events including the Pahalgam terror attack, India-Pakistan border tensions, the Air India Ahmedabad-London crash, severe monsoon disruptions and widespread flight cancellations following the implementation of revised Flight Duty Time Limitation norms.
India also recorded a 7.4 per cent decline in international visitor arrivals during 2025, welcoming 18.6 million visitors, according to WTTC figures, which include overseas Indians travelling to the country. China received 68.2 million international visitors during the same period, while Japan welcomed 42.7 million.
Nevertheless, domestic tourism continued to underpin the sector’s growth. India’s travel and tourism industry contributed US$263.6 billion to the economy in 2025, accounting for 6.6 per cent of GDP and supporting 46.2 million jobs. Domestic visitor spending increased by 10.3 per cent to US$203 billion, highlighting the resilience of the domestic travel market.
Looking ahead, WTTC expects India to remain among the world’s fastest-growing travel economies. The organisation forecasts travel and tourism GDP growth of 8.5 per cent in 2026, with international visitor spending expected to rebound by more than 15 per cent to US$38 billion.
By 2036, WTTC projects India will become the world’s fourth-largest travel and tourism economy, rising from tenth place in 2025, supported by sustained investment, improved connectivity, enabling government policies and continued expansion of tourism infrastructure. The sector is also expected to generate more than 15 million additional jobs over the next decade.
However, Guevara cautioned that achieving this growth will depend on India’s willingness to implement long-pending reforms. She urged the country to significantly expand visa-free access, strengthen connectivity to secondary cities through high-speed rail and introduce a fully digital arrival process to improve the visitor experience.
The message from both the global tourism body and the Indian travel industry was unequivocal: India possesses all the ingredients to become a global tourism leader, but unlocking that potential will require policy reforms, infrastructure investment and coordinated action that matches the country’s ambitions.