Foreign tourist arrivals on the rise but shy of 2019 peak

Winter travel will test India's return to the global travel map

- AKSHARA SRIVASTAVA

India's peak tourist season from October through December will determine whether the country can regain its pre-pandemic level of foreign tourist arrivals — a marker of whether it has truly returned to the global tourism map.

The domestic tourism graph has risen, but foreign visitors remain an elusive cohort. Ministry of Tourism data shows foreign tourist arrivals peaked at 10.93 million in 2019 before the pandemic halted the momentum. Arrivals rebounded to 6.44 million in 2022, climbed to 9.52 million in 2023, and reached 9.95 million in 2024. As of August 2025, they stood at 5.6 million, below the 6.3 million recorded in the same period last year.

This year brought fresh headwinds. The terror attack in Pahalgam early in 2025 unsettled travellers and escalated tensions between India and Pakistan, heightening geopolitical uncertainty. A prolonged monsoon added climate-related disruptions, with floods and landslides dampening hopes of revival during the July-September quarter.

Even so, tourism and hospitality bodies say the industry is poised for a stronger October-December performance, despite travel advisories issued by the US and UK—both major source markets after the blast in Delhi earlier this month.