Visitors Aren’t Coming to India: What the Travel Industry Wants Now
Photo Credit: Dipak Deva, Managing Director and CEO of Travel Corporation India (Left) and Mugdha Sinha, Director General of Tourism, Government of India, with Skift Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia at Skift India Forum 2025. Skift
Skift Take
With a $30 trillion economy goal by 2047, India needs more than just tourists, it needs high-value travelers, and that starts with a bold, well-funded tourism push.
Tourism is booming from and within India, but inbound travel to India...that's still lagging badly.
In 2019, India received approximately 10.5 million foreign visitors. But post-Covid, they've only reached around 9.5 million.
The goal now is to increase that volume and also grow its foreign exchange earnings from the sector.
Dipak Deva, managing director and CEO of Travel Corporation India, stressed the urgent need for a well-funded social media campaign that focuses on sustainability and immersive experiences. "The success of the campaign would be measured through foreign exchange earnings and not foreign tourist arrivals,” Deva said while speaking at the Skift India Forum this week.
Deva added that India must allocate at least INR 10 billion ($120 million) towards a robust tourism promotion strategy. Last year, the government slashed India's overseas tourism promotion budget by 97% to INR 30 million ($350,000)
Mugdha Sinha, Indi
