1 / 10The current estimated size of India’s tourism industry is $256 billion, which is 10% higher than in 2019. As per the World Travel & Tourism Council, the sector also employs 45 million people in India. India’s tourism sector is dominated by domestic footfalls, with domestic visitor spending surging 15% since 2019. Image: Lotus Temple, New Delhi. Source: Canva.
2 / 10India’s tourism sector contributes 5% to India’s gross domestic product (GDP), as per the government’s 2024 estimates. According to the National Account statistics 2024, tourism directly contributes 2.6% to the GDP and 2.4% indirectly. Picture: Taj Mahal, Agra Source: Canva.
3 / 10The estimated size of the tourism sector in the next 10 years is $523 billion, according to World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) President and CEO Julia Simpson. This means that the sector, which is likely to employ 63 million people in the next 10 years, will double in size in just 10 years. Image: Ghora Katora lake near Rajgir in Bihar. Source: Dharam Veer from Pexels via Canva.
4 / 10Total domestic tourist footfalls amount to over 2,509 million at the end of 2023. It remains a significant driver of the economy. Image: The Adalaj Stepwell in Gujarat built in 1498 AD. Source: Peter Patel from Pexels via Canva.
5 / 10Over 18.9 million international tourists descended in India in 2023, bringing in precious foreign exchange. Image: Amer Fort and Palace near Jaipur, Rajasthan. Source: Jatin Verma from Pexels via Canva.
6 / 1046% of foreign tourists visited India for leisure and recreation in the first half of 2024. Indian diaspora constituted over 25% of the Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) between January and June 2024. Image: The Thiruvannamalai temple in Tamil Nadu. Source: Balaji Srinivasan from Pexels via Canva.
7 / 10India ranked 39 in the latest Travel and Tourism Development Index, published by the World Economic Forum. The index measures the factors and policies that support the travel and tourism sector. In terms of foreign tourist footfall, India ranks 24th in the UNWTO Barometer. Image: City Palace in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Source: Dmitry Rukhlenko via Canva.
8 / 10India ranks 85th on the Henley Passport Index for 2025. The index measures how powerful a country’s passport is. India stood 80th in the rankings in 2024. Image: A houseboat in the backwaters of Kerala. Source: Dmitry Rukhlenko via Canva.
9 / 10The total outlay for the tourism sector in the July 2024 budget was ₹2,479 crore. Central sector schemes were allocated ₹2,080.03 crore in order to develop tourism infrastructure. Image: Snow clad mountains in Kashmir. Source: Sanjib Kumar Chowdhury from Getty Images via Canva.
10 / 10India spent a total of ₹33 crore for the ‘Incredible India’ initiative, which was launched in 2002 to promote tourism in India. Image: Arambol beach in Goa. Source: Andrey X via Canva.
