NEW DELHI: The number of foreign tourist arrivals in India fell by 9.4 per cent to 90.2 lakh in 2025, with fewer visas issued between India and Bangladesh amid bilateral tensions, official data showed.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, the number of arrivals from Bangladesh decreased by 73.37 percent in 2025 compared to the previous year.
The data indicated that the total number of Bangladeshi visitors reached 4,66,012 in 2025, down from 17,50,165 in 2024.
India has imposed visa restrictions for Bangladeshi citizens after August 5, 2024, due to security concerns.
Bangladesh’s relations with New Delhi have remained tense since the overthrow of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League regime following violent student-led street protests in July and August 2024.
But without Bangladesh, foreign tourist arrivals recorded positive growth of 4.25 percent in 2025, indicating that the overall decline was largely driven by a sharp decline in visitors from the neighboring country.
The US remained the top source market in 2025 with 1.81 million arrivals, followed by the UK with 1.07 million. Other major source markets were Australia and Canada.
India recorded 327.1 thousand foreign tourist visits during the period from January to December 2025, recording a growth of 5.9 percent compared to 2024 and 21.5 percent compared to 2019, according to the data.
The United Arab Emirates emerged as the first destination with a rate of 26.3%, followed by Saudi Arabia, Thailand, the United States and Singapore.
Leisure travel accounted for 43.5 per cent of foreign visits, followed by the Indian expatriate sector at 34.1 per cent, and business travel at 14.6 per cent.
Delhi was the leading port of departure with a share of 22.7 per cent, followed by Mumbai with 19.9 per cent.
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