India’s diversity is unmatched. Few countries offer, within a single border, snow-covered mountains and tropical beaches, ancient pilgrimage sites and global technology hubs, meditative retreats and chaotic bazaars. Yet this richness has not translated into tourism success. Till August 2025, India recorded only about 5.6 million foreign tourist arrivals — a modest number for a nation of 1.4 billion people. In contrast, Singapore, smaller than Delhi in population, attracted over 11.6 million visitors in the same period, while Thailand earned more than $60 billion from tourism, roughly three times India’s earnings. These figures point to a deeper structural problem in India’s tourism strategy, not a lack of attractions.
Why tourism is more than monuments and landscapes
Tourism today is not about monuments alone. It is about experiences that feel safe, seamless, and memorable. Visitors remember airports as much as palaces, taxis as much as temples, and public toilets as much as beaches. On this broader experience metric, India underperforms. The issue is not potential but execution — how the country presents itself, how it is accessed, and how visitors are treated once they arrive.
The three “I”s holding India back
India’s tourism deficit can be understood through three interlinked factors: image, infrastructure, and “India itself”.
The first is image — how India is perceived abroad. Campaigns like “Incredible India” are visually powerful, but branding cannot neutralise persistent negative headlines. Concerns over women’s safety, scams, poor sanitation, and bureaucratic hurdles dominate global narratives. Tourists want to feel welcome, not vigilant. Countries such as Singapore and Thailand have succeeded by consistently projecting themselves as safe, efficient, and visitor-friendly. India’s diversity makes a single narrative difficult, but not impossible. The solution lies in segmentation — Spiritual India, Adventure India, Luxury India — each marketed clearly to different global audiences. It is time to sell “Incredible Indias”, in the plural.
Infrastructure as the first experience
The second constraint is infrastructure. The tourist experience begins at the airport, not at the destination. Immigration queues, signage, Wi-Fi access, taxis, and road quality shape first impressions. A five-star hotel loses its appeal if the approach road is broken or directions are unclear. Last-mile connectivity to heritage sites and natural attractions remains weak. Clean public toilets, reliable internet, and well-maintained monuments are not luxuries; they are basic expectations.
Ironically, while India is perceived as a budget destination, mid-range and luxury travel often costs more than in Southeast Asia, reducing competitiveness. Without consistent infrastructure standards, even strong destinations fail to convert curiosity into repeat visits.
The challenge of scale and service culture
The third factor is “India itself”. The country’s sheer scale can overwhelm first-time visitors. Crowds, noise, and inconsistent service culture often lead to frustration. Scammers, touts, beggars, and instances of harassment erode trust quickly. The hospitality sector reportedly faces a nearly 40% shortfall in trained personnel, as many graduates prefer predictable office jobs over frontline service roles.
Tourism requires a professional workforce — multilingual guides, trained service staff, and local hosts who see hospitality as a vocation rather than a fallback option. Without this human interface, even good infrastructure fails to deliver good experiences.
Visa regimes and the signal they send
Ease of entry is a powerful signal of openness. While e-visas have helped, India still lags behind many Asian countries on ease-of-travel indices. A more ambitious visa policy — including wider visa-on-arrival options and long-term multi-entry visas — deserves serious consideration. Reciprocity is a standard rule, but India can selectively liberalise for low-risk countries.
Equally important is attitude. Stories of foreigners being denied entry for past criticism of India cause disproportionate reputational damage. A confident democracy should absorb dissent without treating visitors as adversaries. Immigration officers are often the first human contact with India; their training must emphasise courtesy and welcome.
Fixing the deficit: what must change
Addressing India’s tourism gap requires a multi-pronged strategy.
First, rebrand with precision. Move beyond generic campaigns to targeted narratives built around well-defined circuits — the Golden Triangle, Himalayan trails, coastal belts, Buddhist and Ramayana circuits. Invest in digital storytelling through immersive content, influencers, and authentic user-generated experiences.
Second, upgrade infrastructure at scale. Expand public-private partnerships to maintain heritage sites, scale up the “Adopt a Heritage” scheme, improve roads and rail to lesser-known destinations, and launch a nationwide “Clean Tourism” mission covering toilets, waste management, and signage. Museums must become interactive and modern, not dusty and static.
Third, prioritise safety and skills. Strengthen tourist police forces, recruit and train more women personnel, enforce zero tolerance for scams and harassment, and develop verified digital platforms for guides and transport. Skill development must extend beyond luxury hotels to homestays, eco-lodges, and local artisans.
Fourth, simplify visas further. Make e-visas faster and more intuitive, and reduce procedural friction that deters rather than protects.
Fifth, ensure sustainability and authenticity. Global travellers increasingly seek eco-tourism and community-based experiences. India must regulate footfalls at fragile sites, protect local cultures, and ensure development does not destroy the very assets it seeks to monetise.
Tourism as economic and strategic policy
Tourism is not a soft sector; it is a serious economic and strategic lever. A report by the World Tourism Organization notes that tourism investment generates significantly more jobs than equivalent investment in manufacturing. As automation reduces industrial employment, this advantage will grow. Tourism especially benefits unskilled and semi-skilled workers — the demographic most in need of employment opportunities.
In South Asia, where youth unemployment has fuelled instability in countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal, tourism can act as a stabiliser. It therefore deserves policy priority, tax rationalisation, and institutional support. The hospitality industry, which shapes India’s image globally, has been hurt by GST structures that deny full input tax credit, leaving many operators worse off despite lower headline rates. This anomaly needs correction.
What to note for Prelims?
- India’s foreign tourist arrivals remain low compared to Southeast Asian peers.
- Tourism is labour-intensive and generates high employment multipliers.
- Ease of visa and first-contact experience strongly influences tourist flows.
What to note for Mains?
- Analyse the structural reasons behind India’s weak tourism performance.
- Discuss the role of image, infrastructure, and service culture in tourism growth.
- Evaluate tourism as a tool for employment generation and regional stability.
- Suggest policy reforms to make India a globally competitive destination.
India does not need reinvention. It needs refinement. The attractions already exist; what is missing is coherence, consistency, and confidence. The world is willing to come. India must now give it compelling reasons to stay.
