Foreign tourist arrivals to India fall 9.4% amid Bangladesh tensions

Foreign Tourist Arrivals to India fell 9.4 per cent to 90.2 lakh in 2025, with fewer visas issued between India and Bangladesh amid bilateral tensions, an official data showed.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, arrivals from Bangladesh fell by 73.37 per cent in 2025 compared to the previous year. The total number of Bangladeshi visitors stood at 4,66,012 in 2025, down from 17,50,165 in 2024, the data indicated. India imposed restrictions on visas for Bangladeshi nationals after August 5, 2024, citing security concerns.

Bangladesh’s ties with New Delhi have remained strained since then, Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League regime was ousted following a violent student-led street protest in July-August 2024. 

Without Bangladesh, however, foreign tourist arrivals recorded a positive growth of 4.25 per cent in 2025, suggesting that the overall decline was largely driven by the sharp fall in visitors from the neighbouring country.

The United States remained the top source market in 2025 with 1.81 million arrivals, followed by the United Kingdom at 1.07 million. Other key source markets were Australia (0.54 million) and Canada (0.53 million). 

India recorded 327.1 lakh outbound tourist visits during January-December 2025, registering a growth of 5.9 per cent compared to 2024 and 21.5 per cent compared to 2019, according to the data. The UAE emerged as the top destination with a 26.3 per cent share, followed by Saudi Arabia (10.3 per cent), Thailand (6.8 per cent), the US (6.1 per cent) and Singapore (4.7 per cent).

Leisure travel accounted for 43.5 per cent of outbound visits, followed by the Indian diaspora segment at 34.1 per cent and business travel at 14.6 per cent.

Delhi was the leading port of departure with a 22.7 per cent share, followed by Mumbai at 19.9 per cent.