**Executive Summary**
This document presents the Ministry of Tourism's response to a parliamentary question regarding the decline in foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India. It provides data on FTAs from 2019 to 2024, as well as month-wise data for 2024 and 2025 (up to October). The response also addresses the potential impact of currency devaluation on tourism. The question was answered on 09.02.2026.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs):**
* FTAs from 2019 to 2024 are as follows:
* 2019: 10,930,355
* 2020: 2,744,766
* 2021: 1,527,114
* 2022: 6,437,467
* 2023: 9,520,928
* 2024: 9,951,722
* **Monthly FTAs (2024 & 2025):**
* Provides a breakdown of FTAs for each month (January to October) in 2024 and 2025.
* The provisional total FTA count for January to October in 2025 is 6,980,400
* The total FTA count for January to October in 2024 is 7,917,160
* **Impact of Currency Devaluation:**
* The depreciation of the Indian currency can be a factor in making travel more economical for foreign visitors.
* However, it is only one of many factors influencing tourist arrivals, including visa norms, safety, marketing efforts, and foreign policy.
**Impact Analysis**
**Ministry of Tourism**
*Impact:* The ministry is responsible for understanding and addressing the decline in foreign tourist arrivals, monitoring trends, and formulating strategies to promote tourism.
*Action Required:* Continue to monitor tourism trends, analyze factors influencing FTAs, and implement measures to attract more foreign tourists, including addressing visa norms, promoting safety and security, and enhancing marketing efforts.
**Tourism Industry Stakeholders**
*Impact:* Hotels, tour operators, airlines, and other businesses in the tourism sector are directly affected by changes in foreign tourist arrivals. A decline can lead to reduced revenue and potential job losses.
*Action Required:* Adapt business strategies to the current market conditions, focus on attracting domestic tourists, and collaborate with the government on initiatives to promote tourism and improve the overall tourism experience.
**Foreign Tourists**
*Impact:* Exchange rates, safety perceptions, and the ease of obtaining visas can affect their decision to visit India.
*Action Required:* Stay informed about the travel requirements and conditions in India, plan trips in advance, and take necessary precautions to ensure safety and security.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Tourism: Indian government ministry responsible for the development and promotion of tourism in India.
Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs): The data related to the number of foreign tourists visiting India, specifically the decline in arrivals after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bureau of Immigration: Source for Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) data.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF TOURISM
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1421
ANSWERED ON 09.02.2026
DECLINE IN FOREIGN TOURIST ARRIVALS
1421. SHRI V K SREEKANDAN:
Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:
(a) whether it is a fact that foreign tourist arrivals dipped in the country
for the first time after Covid pandemic 2019 outbreak;
(b) whether it is true that only 69.8 lakh foreign tourists arrived in India
till October, 2025 as against 76.81 lakh in the same period in 2024;
(c) whether it is also a fact that the drop in foreign tourist arrivals is
expected to have a big impact on tourism in the country;
(d) whether it is also true that the devaluation of Indian currency is
expected to attract more foreign tourists to the country; and
(e) if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF TOURISM (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)
(a) to (c): The Foreign Tourist Arrivals (post pandemic) from 2019 to 2024
is as follows:
Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) during 2019 to 2024:
Year FTAs
2019 1,09,30,355
2020 27,44,766
2021 15,27,114
2022 64,37,467
2023 95,20,928
2024 99,51,722
Source: Bureau of Immigration
The month-wise data for year 2024 and 2025 till Oct is provided below:Month-wise FTA for year 2024 and 2025 till Oct. Month
Month Name 2024 2025*
January 9,81,609 9,56,988
February 10,32,301 9,15,713
March 8,93,021 7,42,108
April 6,72,684 6,25,874
May 6,22,189 4,74,308
June 7,22,615 5,47,855
July 7,99,842 6,68,612
August 6,61,322 6,27,555
September 6,91,247 6,23,845
October 8,40,330 7,97,542
Total 79,17,160 69,80,400
Source: Bureau of Immigration | *Provisional
(d) & (e): It depends on several factors such as ease of visa norms,
safety and security, promotional and marketing efforts, foreign policy
environment, and other considerations, including affordability of travel
costs and favourable exchange rates. While a depreciation of the Indian
currency may make travel more economical for foreign visitors, it is only
one of the many factors influencing foreign tourist arrivals.
********