India's drought of foreign tourists: No end in sight yet

India, as the world's most populous nation, teems with people. But foreign tourists are in short supply even at our most visited destinations.

- RAHUL JACOB

India, as the world's most populous nation, teems with people. But foreign tourists are in short supply even at our most visited destinations. A foreigner who works in the travel industry and used to live in India reports from Jaipur that there seem to be few foreigners around. News of the Wayanad landslides in July affected arrivals in Kerala for months. I was in Chettinad, Tamil Nadu, for a delightful cultural festival in late September. Of the nearly 150 visitors, excluding a large Sri Lankan extended family, there were just eight foreigners. Foreign faces were few and far between as we visited the beautiful mansions that seemed assembled for a retrospective Architectural Digest photoshoot with styles ranging from Art Deco to Art Nouveau.

The paradox is that wealthy Indians are succumbing to wanderlust while fewer foreign tourists are showing up at Indian airports than before. A recent report in Mint showed that tourist arrivals in 2024 are unlikely to cross 10 million, which is below the pre-pandemic peak of 10.9 million. By contrast, with the peak season still ahead, Vietnam received 14.4 million foreign tourists in the first 10 months of the year.