The world over, tourism is seen as a transformative force which serves as key growth engines of an economy with creation of jobs, foreign exchange earnings and development of infrastructure. At the same time, tourism also plays important role in bridging cultures, preserving traditions and supporting restoration of heritage sites with people to people contact.

As we celebrate World Tourism Day 2025 on 27 September, India has emerged as top choice for tourists across the world and the tourism sector has witnessed exponential growth in the past 11 years under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As India has taken its unique heritage to the world, country’s 13 new sites have been added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Properties in the past decade, taking the number of such sites in the country to 43. India’s count on the UNESCO’s Tentative List for heritage sites for inclusion in UNESCO’s World Heritage Site also stands at 69.

As per the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) 2025 report, India has now surpassed Italy and Spain to become the eighth-largest tourism economy with earnings of US$ 231.6 billion (nearly Rs 20.42 lakh crore) from tourism sector in 2024-25. As India’s rich cultural heritage, diverse geography and historical landmarks are attracting the world, the number of foreign tourists visiting the country has registered seven-fold increase to go up from 15.27 lakh in 2021 to 99.52 lakh in 2024.

GST Boost

The just announced Good and Services Tax (GST) reforms will further boost the tourism sector and make it even more competitive globally. Now hotel stay will not become even more affordable as tourists will be required to pay only 5% GST for hotel stay as compared to 12 % earlier. It will make India’s tourist places more attractive for foreign and domestic travelers. As buses with seating capacity of over 10 Persons will now attract 18% GST as compared to 28% earlier, it will encourage use of public transport, thus reducing emissions and easing traffic congestion. As Art and cultural goods will now attract just 5% GST as compared to 12 % earlier, reduced prices will mean more demand for products of Indian artisans. In all, the GST reduction will lead to increased job opportunities in India’s travel and tourism sector as well as artisans.

Heritage with Development

For decades, several significant heritage monuments were facing neglect. But now with the motto ‘Vikas bhi Virasat bhi’, the Union government is paying equal attention for conserving India’s cultural heritage and developmental projects. This has helped in revival of several religious sites through conservation, restoration and development projects which have not only boosted tourism but increased job and business opportunities for local people. Be it the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi, Mahakaal Lok Project in Ujjain, Ma Kamakhya corridor in Guwahati, tourists now enjoy world-class facilities at these sites. The construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has become a global spiritual hub which attracted over 16 crore visitors in 2024, up from 60 lakhs in 2020.

Initiatives like Kartarpur Corridor, Char Dham Road Project, Ropeway Projects connecting Gaurikund to Kedarnath and Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib and Somnath Temple reconstruction project have eased spiritual journey of devotees to these revered places. 

Inclusive Development

As Bharat remains the spiritual capital of the world, the Union government has given special attention to sacred sites of all communities. The Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive” (PRASHAD) scheme has helped in preservation of 46 such sites. The scheme includes several sites related to the minority communities including Hazratbal shrine and Ajmer Sharif Dargah; Chamkaur Sahib Gurudwara and Nada Sahib Gurudwara Renovation, Patna Sahib.

Likewise, the National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) for 12 cities include heritage sites related to minority communities including Ajmer Sharif Dargah in Ajmer, Golden Temple in Amritsar and Bodh Gaya in Bihar.

With much improved facilities, spiritual tourism is now witnessing 35-40 % growth in India as such sacred sites are drawing tourists from across the country and world, leading creation of thousands of jobs and business opportunities for local population.

Expansion of Infrastructure

Development of world-class infrastructure in India has given a big boost to the tourism sector. Between 2014 and 2025, length of National Highways has grown by 60% (from 91,287 km to 1,46,204 km). Now 68 Vande Bharat trains are running across 333 districts ensuring faster and comfortable journey for tourists. While the capacity of Indian ports has doubled in the past 11 years, number of operational airports gone up to 160 in 2025, including 145 airports, 13 heliports, and 2 water aerodromes, as compared to just 74 airports in 2014. Tourists now enjoy enhanced connectivity to small towns and remote regions with 625 new air routes becoming operational under UDAN scheme which has benefitted over 1.51 crore passengers.

Medical Tourism

India is now attracting tourists from all over the world for high-quality medical services at affordable costs with number of such tourists going up from 1.83 lakh in 2020 to about 6.50 lakh in 2024 and over 1.31 lakh in first four months of 2025.The Union Budget 2025-26 has given further boost to medical tourism with “Heal in India” initiative. E-medical visa/e- medical attendant visa facility is now available to nationals of 171 countries.

Novel Initiatives

Union government has introduced ‘Swadesh Darshan’ scheme for development of 110 projects for 15 theme based tourist circuits including Ramayana, Buddhist, Coastal, and Tribal to connect different regions of the country and giving a new identity to India. Dekho Apna Desh campaign is encouraging domestic tourists to explore the unexplored tourist sites. While ‘Chalo India’ had made Indian Diaspora brand ambassadors of India for tourism promotion, ‘Wed in India’ campaign is showcasing India as wedding destination for Indian and foreign tourists. ‘Travel for LiFE’ initiative is promoting sustainable tourism.

Suggestions

State-Wise Tourist Circuits: On the lines of national level tourist circuits, each state should develop its tourist circuits to promote unexplored tourist places. Exploration of Remote Tourist Sites: Special efforts should be made to further improve connectivity, tourist facilities and safety at remote or lesser known tourist places. Tourist Management: To prevent over-crowding in tourist places like hill stations and religious circuits, tourist management plans should be used to determine carrying capacity and take crowd control measures.

Skill Training for Tourism Workforce: As India’s tourism sector is witnessing massive growth, special training programs should be undertaken for unskilled workforce to improve the quality of service in this sector. Promotion of Festivals: India’s unique festivals and fairs can be a major attraction for tourists to explore various regions of the country. By including festivals of India in travel calendars, foreign tourists should be encouraged to plan trips for witnessing celebrations during festivals. Safety of Tourists: Increased number tourism police personnel should be deployed to implement strict security protocols at tourist sites to ensure safety of tourists travelling in all parts of the country.

Conclusion

As land of spirituality, India believes in ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ (Guest is God) and is now a top global travel destination where tourists can experience all seasons throughout the year. The turn-around in India’s tourism sector is testament of the Union government’s visionary policies, strategic planning and consistent efforts over the past 11 years. With transformation of India’s tourism landscape, this sector will now surely be one of the growth engines to realise the vision for a Viksit Bharat by 2047.

( Satnam Singh Sandhu, Rajya Sabha MP. Views expressed are personal. Email: satnam.sandhu@sansad.nic.in )