During the recently concluded BRICS summit, the BRICS tourism ministers adopted a declaration to strengthen tourism cooperation among member states. But when it comes to India, data show that there is a long way to go in creating a genuinely two-way tourism market.
The ministry of tourism’s latest figures, which provide the annual country- and purpose-wise data for 2024, recorded overall 1.87 million foreign tourist arrivals into India from the 20 other BRICS members and partner countries, against 15.6 million Indian nationals’ departures to these markets. Around 4.48 million foreign visitors came to India for leisure, compared with an estimated 13.1 million Indian departures abroad for the same in 2024.
Some of the most popular destinations for Indians included the UAE with 7.79 million Indian departures in 2024, followed by Saudi Arabia at 3.42 million and Thailand at 1.91 million. Malaysia recorded 765,000, Indonesia 499,000 and Vietnam 399,000 departures.
At a global level, India recorded 9.02 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2025, provisionally, down 9.4% from 9.95 million in 2024, while Indian nationals’ departures rose to 32.7 million, up 5.89% from 30.9 million in 2024, as per the ministry of tourism’s Annual Tourism Snapshot 2025.
Among BRICS nations, the China numbers are the most skewed. India recorded only 38,960 Chinese arrivals in 2024, compared with 258,000 Indian departures to China. Of the Indian departures, 50.43% were classified as leisure and 40.71% as business and professional travel. Among Chinese arrivals into India, however, only 1.19% were classified as leisure, while 41.39% were business and professional. The China corridor also remains significantly below its pre-pandemic level. Chinese arrivals to India stood at 339,000 in 2019, falling to 30,585 in 2023 before recovering to 38,960 in 2024.
An exception is Russia, which sent 160,000 visitors to India in 2024, compared with 92,902 Indian departures to Russia. Nearly 77.48% of Russian arrivals were classified as leisure, holiday or recreation, making it one of the bloc’s strongest leisure-led inbound markets.
South Africa recorded 44,168 arrivals into India, against 72,053 Indian departures. Leisure accounted for 60.26% of South African arrivals, while business and professional travel made up 18.30%.
Globally, the US remained India’s largest source market, with 1.81 million arrivals, followed by the UK (1.07 million), Australia (540,000), and Canada (530,000). On the outbound side, the UAE was the top destination for Indian departures at 7.79 million, followed by Saudi Arabia (3.42 million), Thailand (1.91 million), Singapore (1.53 million) and the US (1.53 million).
The gap is also visible in the nature of travel. Leisure accounted for 39% of inbound tourism in 2025, while it made up 43.5% of Indian outbound travel. Indian diaspora travel accounted for another 33% of inbound arrivals and 34.1% of outbound departures, while business travel accounted for 12% and 14.6%, respectively.
For south-east Asia and middle-east, 92.93% of Indian departures to Thailand, 91.60% to Vietnam and 91.46% to Indonesia were for leisure, while Malaysia recorded 78.49% leisure travel. The Gulf markets are more heavily influenced by diaspora and pilgrimage travel: 52.74% of Indian departures to the UAE were classified under Indian diaspora and 34.73% of departures to Saudi Arabia under pilgrimage.
The industry believes the imbalance is partly a consequence of how aggressively destinations market themselves to Indian travellers. “BRICS countries are actively promoting themselves in the Indian market. They hold travel marts, conduct familiarisation trips for Indian tour operators and travel agents, undertake consumer-facing promotions and, in many cases, have simplified visa procedures and made travel easier,” said Rajiv Mehra, general secretary, Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH).
“Unfortunately, we have not matched this effort in the BRICS markets to the extent that we should. India is way behind in overseas promotion and marketing. There is almost no budget for publicity so numbers do tell a story,” he said.
Visa facilitation is another area where India needs to do better. India’s e-Visa facility, introduced in 2014 for nationals of 43 countries, was restored to 156 countries in 2022 and extended to 166 countries in 2023. It is now available to nationals of 172 countries. However, the expansion of e-Visas has not necessarily meant a frictionless experience for travellers. Several traveller discussions on Reddit include anecdotal complaints about the portal crashing, losing information, problems with photographs and document uploads and applicants having to repeat parts of the application.
For Hemant Joshi, CEO, Atithi Foundation, a tourism policy thinktank, the larger question is how to make the entire journey easier once a traveller decides to visit India. “Connectivity and ease of travel will be critical to unlocking the next phase of India’s tourism growth, particularly beyond the major gateways and established destinations,” he said.
That means looking beyond airports and roads, he said. China’s high-speed rail has brought tourism destinations within an hour or two of major cities, while Ethiopia has used its airline hub to turn transit traffic into tourism opportunities beyond the gateway. India could similarly use better air, rail and road connectivity to compress travel time to destinations, added Joshi.
Mehra of FAITH said BRICS could go further on facilitation by waiving visa fees for visitors from member countries and extending visa-on-arrival or simplified e-Visa facilities wherever possible. “The easier we make the first step of travel, the greater the possibility of creating reciprocal tourism flows,” he felt.
There are signs, however, that inbound demand is broadening. Rikant Pittie, CEO and co-founder, EaseMyTrip, says the company receives inbound bookings from several BRICS and partner markets, with Russia, the UAE and South Africa being relevant source markets. The company has seen inbound bookings increase by around 20% over the past year, he said.
“The nature of demand differs across these markets, but what is interesting is the growing diversity of travellers coming to India,” Pittie says. Travellers are showing interest in heritage, spirituality, wellness, food and local experiences, alongside business travel. “The bigger change is that international travellers are looking beyond the conventional Golden Triangle and major metros and showing interest in destinations that offer a more distinctive Indian experience,” he said.