Parliament Question: Assessment of India's Tourism Sector

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.79 ANSWERED ON 20.07.2026 ASSESSMENT OF INDIA'S TOURISM SECTOR

79. SHRI BAJRANG MANOHAR SONWANE:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is aware that despite substantial expenditure on tourism promotion and infrastructure, India's tourism sector has not achieved its full potential compared to several other countries;

(b) whether the Government has conducted any comparative assessment of India's tourism sector with leading global tourist destinations to identify gaps in infrastructure, connectivity, visitor facilities, promotion and ease of travel;

(c) whether the Government proposes to formulate and implement a comprehensive strategy to enhance domestic and international tourist arrivals by adopting global best practices; and

(d) if so, the details thereof along with the timeline for implementation and the expected outcomes? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF TOURISM (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)

(a) & (b): The Ministry of Tourism maintains the data on International Tourists Arrivals (ITAs) and Domestic Tourist Visits (DTVs) as provided by the Bureau of Immigration (BoI) and State/ UTs, respectively. The ITAs increased from 1.31 crore in 2014 to 2.06 crore in 2024 registering a growth of 56.93%. Similarly, the DTVs have also increased from 128.28 crore in 2014 to 294.53 crore in 2024 thereby registering a growth of

129.60%. The data indicates substantial improvement in tourist footfall during the last decade.

According to the latest UN’s World Tourism Barometer, India's global share of International Tourist Arrivals has seen an increase from1.15% in 2014 to 1.41% in 2024. The International Tourists Arrivals of top 5 countries, in terms of ITAs, is at ANNEXURE.

Further, in the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2024, India improved its position significantly, ranking 39th globally out of 119 countries (up from 65th in

2013) and holding the 1st position among SAARC countries.

To conduct comparative assessments and identify structural barriers, the Ministry of Tourism has undertaken a detailed analysis of the TTDI 2024 edition to identify data gaps, methodological limitations, and areas requiring policy and institutional interventions.

Additionally, this Ministry has also developed a competitive "State Tourism Performance Framework" allowing the States and Union Territories to objectively identify gaps in their tourism sector and inducing healthy competition to improve infrastructure, connectivity, and visitor facilities, which will ultimately further improve India's overall position in global rankings.

(c) & (d): The Ministry of Tourism is undertaking various initiatives with the objective to promote tourism to the country in association with the Indian Missions, State Governments and Union Territory Administrations and the travel trade industry. The Ministry is undertaking several activities such as participation in various global travel trade exhibitions and Marts, organization of familiarization tours for the foreign tour operators, media personnel, social media influencers, organization of India Food Festivals overseas, organization of trade events with the local tour operators and industry stakeholders, promotion of tourist destinations, products and festivals through social media outreach, etc.

********ANNEXURE STATEMENT IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) & (B) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.79 ANSWERED ON 20.07.2026 REGARDING ASSESSMENT OF INDIA'S TOURISM SECTOR RAISED BY SHRI BAJRANG MANOHAR SONWANE Country-wise International Tourist Arrivals (ITAs) of top 5 countries ITAs (in million) % Share Change Rank Country 2014 2024 2014 2024 % 1 France 83.7 102.0 7.36 6.98 21.9 2 Spain 64.9 93.8 5.71 6.42 44.5 3 US 75.0 72.3 6.60 4.95 -3.6 4 Turkey 39.8 60.6 3.50 4.15 52.3 5 Italy 48.6 57.7 4.27 3.95 18.7 India 13.1 20.6 1.15 1.41 57.3

Source: UN’s World Tourism Barometer 2026 ******