Tourist Arrivals In India Peak: Where Are They Coming From & How Much Are They Spending?

Last Updated:August 08, 2025, 07:00 IST

As per the World Travel and Tourism Council, India hosted a record 20 million international visitors in 2024

Foreign tourist arrivals from the US, Bangladesh, the UK, Australia, and Canada accounted for the top 5 in 2024, while Germany, France, Singapore, Nepal, Japan, South Korea, Italy, and Thailand accounted for some of the other major countries. Representational image

Foreign tourist arrivals in India are soaring. As per the World Travel and Tourism Council, India hosted a record 20 million international visitors in 2024. International Tourist Arrivals (ITAs) had already reached 18.89 million in 2023, surpassing the pre-Covid peak of 17.91 million in 2019 and thus exceeding pre-pandemic levels, registering a growth of 5.47% over 2019. Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India have grown significantly over the decades, reaching 10.93 million in 2019 before the pandemic caused a decline.

With recovery underway, 9.52 million FTAs were recorded in 2023, achieving 87.09% of pre-pandemic levels with a 47.89% increase from 2022, which saw 6.44 million FTAs. Winter in India emerged as a particularly attractive time to visit: travel peaked at 1.10 million arrivals in December 2023.

And it’s not just Goa or Rajasthan; even the Andaman and Nicobar Islands witnessed a staggering surge in foreign tourist footfall: in 2024, the islands’ tourism sector recorded a 27% rise compared to 2023.

Source nations

Foreign tourist arrivals from the US, Bangladesh, the UK, Australia, and Canada accounted for the top 5 in 2024, while Germany, France, Singapore, Nepal, Japan, South Korea, Italy, and Thailand accounted for some of the other major countries. The US alone accounted for 18,04,586 tourists in 2024, as per PIB data.

The numbers have continued a trend of increasing tourist footfall. In 2023, South Asia contributed the largest share of FTAs (29.02%), followed by North America (21.82%) and Western Europe (20.40%). Germany, France, Australia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Canada, the UK, and the US made up the top 10 source markets, accounting for 70.06% of total FTAs.

Spending

Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEE) from tourism grew by 31.5% from US$21.360 billion in 2022 to US$28.077 billion in 2023, while the average spending by a foreign tourist in India stood at Rs 2.90 lakh, according to the latest available figures.

Even though Agra and Varanasi remain favourite destinations of international tourists, the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and the Buddhist circuit in Uttar Pradesh draw a number of foreign visitors.

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First Published:

August 08, 2025, 07:00 IST

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