In 2024, the travel and tourism industry in India contributed around 256 billion U.S. dollars to the country’s GDP. In 2023, the country welcomed over nine million foreign tourists, generating foreign exchange earnings of over 27 billion U.S. dollars. Domestic travel on the rise With a rich culture, ancient monuments, and mesmerizing natural beauty, India is one of the leading tourist destinations in the world. This holds true not only for foreign tourists, but also for the increasingly monied middle-class of the country who are spending more time and money than ever before on domestic travel. In 2021, the domestic expenditure on tourism was around 150 billion U.S. dollars. The collective government spending on the tourism sector is expected to reach 5.65 billion dollars by 2028. The cost of tourism It comes as no surprise that out of the most visited monuments in India, the Taj Mahal in Agra ranks number one for both foreign as well as domestic tourists. Along with these popular tourist destinations, travellers are also exploring many other destinations in the country, like the pristine high-altitude plains of Leh and Ladakh or the lush green north-eastern forests. It now remains to be seen whether and how well the country manages to balance the influx of people with its efforts for the historical sites and natural resources conservation.

In 2023, the direct contribution of tourism & hospitality industry to India's GDP was over 231 billion U.S. dollars. This was forecasted to be 523 billion U.S. dollars by 2034. India had the second highest tourism GDP contribution in Asia-Pacific. Ever-growing industry    Travel and tourism is one of India’s largest economic sectors, ranking eighth among the leading countries in terms of direct contribution to GDP. As a dynamic sector, it was estimated to provide employment to over 81 million people in 2018, including both direct and indirect employment. Even though a variety of skilled jobs are offered in this sector, employment under passenger transportation has been the highest through the years. Tourism as revenue machinery Most of the tourism revenue in India comes from domestic tourists. However, India has witnessed an exponential rise in foreign exchange earnings since 2000, along with an increased inflow of foreign tourists into the country. Even though India is not among the top ten countries with the highest foreign tourism revenue, it is not too far behind. In recent years, the government has implemented new visa policies and advertised niche tourism products to boost tourism.

In the financial year 2024, foreign visitor spending contributed around ** percent to the travel and tourism gross domestic product (GDP) in India. Whereas, domestic spending contributed about ** percent to India's travel and tourism GDP.

Forecast: Total Tourism GDP in India 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Key information about India Tourism Revenue Growth

• India Tourism Revenue dropped 24.4 % YoY in Jun 2025, compared with a decrease of -22.8 % YoY in the previous month
• India Tourism Revenue Growth rate data is updated monthly, available from Jan 2002 to Jun 2025
• The data reached an all-time high of 10,277.8 % in Apr 2021 and a record low of -99.6 % in Apr 2020

According to the UN World Tourism Organization, the tourism openness over gross domestic product was around *** percent in 2021. The measure of tourism openness provides a sense of importance of the tourism sector relative to the size of the country.

In 2023, the share of revenues from domestic travel spending to the total tourism revenue was around 86 percent in India. The share of foreign visitor spending, has increased to 14 percent in 2023. Incredible India’s booming tourism India's tourism offers experiences ranging from cultural and religious sites to wellness tourism and destination weddings. The industry contributes to a significant amount of the country's GDP. Of the international tourist arrivals, the United States of America was the largest source of foreign tourists. It is likely that most of these were non-resident Indians or diaspora. Bangladesh and United Kingdom rounded off the top three FTAs into India. Domestic push and revenge tourism The tourism market in India has been experiencing steady growth in recent years, driven by a combination of factors. Initiatives such as 'Swadesh Darshan' and 'Incredible India' by the government, combined with increasing disposable income, have boosted domestic tourism. Moreover, ‘revenge tourism’ has gained popularity in India, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic, as people seek to make up for lost travel experiences and show resilience. The majority of tourism revenue comes from domestic tourists, the revenue in this sector was projected to continue increasing from 2024 to 2029, indicating a promising outlook for the segment.

While the tourism sector GDP share in India was forecast to increase long-term between 2023 and 2028 by in total *** percentage points, it is estimated to decrease in the years 2026, 2027 and 2028. The share is estimated to amount to **** percent in 2028. While the share was forecast to increase significant in the next years, the increase will slow down in the future.Depited is the economic contribution of the tourism sector in relation to the gross domestic product of the country or region at hand.The forecast has been adjusted for the expected impact of COVID-19.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in more than *** countries and regions worldwide. All input data are sourced from international institutions, national statistical offices, and trade associations. All data has been are processed to generate comparable datasets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the tourism sector GDP share in countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

INTRODUCTION

In 2017, over 10 million foreign tourists arrived in India as compared to 8.89 million in 2016, recording a growth of 15.6%. Hence, in recent years, there is a rapid growth of Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India. The Data Set, contains quarterly national accounts' data for the years starting from 2005 to 2016 and includes 41 determinants of International Tourism Demand and Quarterly Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India.

CONTENT

The Data-Set consists of different configurations of Gross Domestic Product across multiple sectors & Foreign Exchange Earnings as determinants of Foreign Tourism Demand and the number of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (as target variable) in India. There are 4 sub data-sets as files,

1. q1.csv (corresponding to 1st Quarter of years from 2005 to 2016)
2. q2.csv (corresponding to 2nd Quarter of years from 2005 to 2016)
3. q3.csv (corresponding to 3rd Quarter of years from 2005 to 2016)
4. q4.csv (corresponding to 4th Quarter of years from 2005 to 2016)

SOURCES

• The data regarding the Foreign Tourist Arrivals is acquired from Indian Tourism Statistics for the duration of 2015-2016.
• The data regarding the Foreign Exchange Earnings is collected from Various Issues of Indian Tourism Statistics, M/o Tourism, Market Research Division in Indian Rupee Crores.
• The different GDP values are extracted from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development in Indian Rupee Billions.

RELATED LINKS

• https://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?queryid=350#
• http://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/Other/english%20India%20Torurism%20Statics%20020917.pdf
• http://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/Other/India%20Tourism%20Statistics_English_2015%20Final.pdf
• https://navoneel1092283.github.io/fta-dataset/

RELEVANT PAPERS

Jana Vencovska, "The determinants of international tourism demand." (2014).

In the financial year 2023, spending on travel for leisure purposes contributed **** percent to the travel and tourism gross domestic product (GDP) in India. In comparison, spending on travel for business purposes contributed approximately five percent to India's travel and tourism GDP.

According to the UN World Tourism Organization, for the year 2021, tourism balance as a share of GDP was around negative *** percent. This was mainly a result of the impact from the coronavirus pandemic.

The spreadsheet consists of multiple attributes of case study cities.

According to the UN World Tourism Organization, for the year 2021, the outbound tourism expenditure as a share of GDP was at *** percent. That same year, the inbound tourism expenditure over GDP was at *** percent.

In 2023, the share of revenue from leisure travel made up over 80 percent of tourism in India. Business travel, however, has made a resounding recovery since 2015. Growing businesses, increasing business travel Post the COVID-19 pandemic, business travel has significantly increased. In addition to domestic travel, international trips have also become an important part of corporate life. India hosts multiple business hubs across its tier-1 cities, whether it is Mumbai as the country’s financial capital, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad for pharma and healthcare, or Bangalore – the Silicon Valley of India. Travel destinations for every occasion India’s rich culture and heritage, along with its geographical diversity offer various kinds of travel destinations domestically. Apart from hitting a beach town, a hill station, or going on a safari, spirituality was one of the most common reasons for travel in the country. Its religious richness offers pilgrimages not just for the Hindus, but also other faiths, including Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a measure of the total economic output of a country. It is the sum of all the goods and services produced within a country over a given period. The GDP of a country is an important indicator of its economic health and can be used to compare the economic performance of different countries.

According to the World Bank, the United States has the highest GDP of any country in the world, with a value of $23.3 trillion. The American economy is one of the most diversified and technologically advanced in the world which contributes to the US’s large GDP. China is the second-largest economy in the world, with a GDP of $17.7 trillion. Japan, Germany, India, the United Kingdom, and France round out the top seven, all with GDPs over $3 trillion.

On the other hand, there are countries with low GDPs. The country with the lowest GDP in the world is Nauru, with a value of $133.2 million. Palau, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and São Tomé and Príncipe are some other countries with low GDPs. These countries are typically characterized by limited natural resources, small populations, geographic isolation, and a heavy reliance on tourism or foreign aid.

It is important to note that GDP is not necessarily an accurate reflection of the economic well-being of a country’s citizens. While a high GDP indicates a large and productive economy, it does not necessarily mean that all citizens are equally prosperous. Countries with lower GDPs may also have a higher standard of living if income is distributed more equally among the population.

Contributing a staggering *** trillion U.S. dollars to China’s GDP in 2023, the travel and tourism industry proved to be a vital industry for the East Asian country’s economy. This pivotal industry provided huge GDP contributions to a number of countries across the Asia-Pacific region. Japan and India both saw impressive figures, while Southeast Asia alone has experienced constant GDP increases from the travel and tourism industry. Why Asia-Pacific The travel and tourism industry has made significant monetary additions to many developing economies throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Southeast Asia stands in the foreground as one of the regions which relies heavily on its tourism success. A success which could be inferred through the rising number of tourist arrivals to the ASEAN states. A likely reason why APAC has become one of the leading regions for tourism, could be related to its competitive prices. Many countries in the Asia-Pacific region are cheaper than the usual Western tourist hotspots, in this way, the region has begun to appeal to an increasing number of international travelers. Domestic tourism The Asia-Pacific region has not only attracted international tourists throughout recent years but has also received a great influx of domestic tourists. Growing economies in the region, resulting in an emerging middle class, have made the possibility of increased domestic travel a reality. Intra-regional tourism accounted for approximately half of APAC’s tourism.

More than **** million foreign tourist arrivals were reported across India in 2022. India offers a diverse portfolio for travel and tourism. The industry is one of the largest service industries across the south Asian country. In 2017, travel and tourism contributed over ** billion U.S. dollars to the country’s GDP. Domestic tourism was the major revenue of source for the industry. Sector insightAs per the government estimates, the industry provided employment to over ** million people in fiscal year 2018. There was also an increase in the budget allocation from the government. Under the Swadesh Darshan scheme, over ** projects valued at around *** million dollars were sanctioned. E-visa facility was also offered to around *** countries starting December 2019. Catalysts for growth A TRT or Tax Refund for Tourists scheme was introduced for some countries to encourage tourist expenditure and boost revenue. A 100 percent FDI was also allowed in the hotel and tourism sector through the automatic route.

Many people enjoy traveling. When comparing the long distance train ticket users in selected countries worldwide, the highest share can be found in India, where 51 percent of consumers fall into this category. Finland ranks second with 42 percent of respondents being part of this category as well.Statista Consumer Insights offer you all results of our exclusive Statista surveys, based on more than 2,000,000 interviews.

The tourism sector GDP share in Sri Lanka was forecast to continuously increase between 2023 and 2028 by in total *** percentage points. The share is estimated to amount to **** percent in 2028. While the share was forecast to increase significant in the next years, the increase will slow down in the future.Depited is the economic contribution of the tourism sector in relation to the gross domestic product of the country or region at hand.The forecast has been adjusted for the expected impact of COVID-19.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in more than *** countries and regions worldwide. All input data are sourced from international institutions, national statistical offices, and trade associations. All data has been are processed to generate comparable datasets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the tourism sector GDP share in countries like Nepal and India.

The statistic shows the national debt in India from 2020 to 2023 in relation to gross domestic product (GDP), with projections up until 2030. In 2023, the national debt of India amounted to about 81.23 percent of the gross domestic product. India’s economy on the rise India is one of the most populous countries in the world, and although a large share of inhabitants are living below the poverty line – or probably due to this fact –, the country’s economy is growing steadily. India’s GDP growth is expected to remain steady at more than 7 percent for the next few years, which is almost double that of the global GDP, and both GDP and GDP per capita are expected to increase significantly. Almost half of India’s workforce is employed in the agricultural sector, but services and industry share the other half quite equally. India’s GDP is mostly generated by the services sector, which includes transport, retailing, and offering services in the hospitality and tourism industry. India’s trade balance has been in the red for a decade now, but seems to recover slowly. A trade deficit usually means that a country’s import costs are higher than the amount of money generated with exporting goods. India’s imports could not be compensated for by the country’s exports, as imports have been consistently, even if only slightly, higher over the years both in terms of volume and value. Still, all signs point to India’s economy growing and thriving, reducing India’s debt (as seen above) and unemployment rate, enabling the inhabitants to create a better life for themselves.