In a detailed written response before the Lok Sabha, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat unveiled compelling tourism figures, illustrating the evolving landscape of inbound travel to India over the past five years. According to data shared by the Ministry, the top three source countries for Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) during this period were the United States, Bangladesh, and the United Kingdom, followed closely by Australia and Canada.
The government provided a comprehensive breakdown of year-wise foreign tourist arrivals. Beginning from 2020 and extending through 2024, the annual FTA tallies were recorded as follows: 27.45 lakh in 2020, 15.27 lakh in 2021, 64.37 lakh in 2022, 95.21 lakh in 2023, and 99.52 lakh in 2024. These numbers underscore a resilient recovery trajectory, though still marginally below the pre-Covid pinnacle recorded in 2019.
The minister also outlined trends in India’s overall inbound tourism through International Tourist Arrivals (ITAs), which comprise both FTAs and arrivals of Non-Resident Indians. The ITA trajectory mirrored the FTA recovery, rising from 63.37 lakh in 2020 to 70.10 lakh in 2021, then surging to 143.30 lakh in 2022, 188.99 lakh in 2023, and reaching 205.69 lakh in 2024.
Explaining the country-specific dynamics, the response revealed variations in the leading source markets across years. In 2020 and again in 2023, Bangladesh held the top spot for FTAs. Conversely, in the years 2021, 2022, and 2024, the United States eclipsed all others as the primary source of inbound travellers. This shift perhaps reflects shifting global travel preferences, policy mechanisms, and bilateral relations impacting mobility.
The Ministry also shared a broader ranking of the top ten source countries for FTAs over the full five-year window. In addition to the US, Bangladesh, and the UK, the list included Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Germany, France, and Singapore.
Taken together, these figures paint a picture of Indian tourism rebounding steadily from the severe disruptions of the pandemic. The full restoration of pre-Covid levels, however, remains aspirational. Notably, total FTAs in 2024—at just under one million—still fell short of the 2019 benchmark of over 1.09 crore, pointing to lingering challenges in fully regaining pre-pandemic international travel volumes.
The evolving trends in visitor origins—particularly the interplay between the United States and Bangladesh topping the rankings in alternating years—suggest that future tourism strategies will need to account for nuanced geopolitical, economic, and visa-policy dynamics. Meanwhile, the consistently high rankings of the UK, Australia, and Canada underscore the broader appeal of India across multiple global regions.
In sum, while India’s inbound tourism has shown remarkable resilience and recovery in the past half-decade, fully reclaiming its former international travel stature remains a goal within reach, but still unfolding.
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