India’s Foreign Arrivals Are Falling — but the 2047 Tourism Target Is Now 100 Million

Photo Credit: Indian Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (center) at the World Travel and Tourism Summit in Malta with Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio, Chairman, WTTC (left), and Gloria Guevara, President & CEO, WTTC. WTTC At the World Travel and Tourism Council summit in Malta, Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat told a global audience that India will go from 9.2 million international arrivals to 100 million by 2047. He named four “P”s to getting there: political will, public spending, partnership, and people’s participation. India recorded only 9.2 million foreign tourists in 2025, down 9.4% from 2024 and 17% below the pre-pandemic high of 10.9 million. Arrivals have declined for two consecutive years and the picture for 2026 looks grim. A PHD Chamber of Commerce report has estimated that inbound tourism could drop 15-20% this year as the Iran War severs the air corridors used by long-haul visitors. Getting to 100 million over the next two decades would require 12% or more average annual growth, well above