India tourism growth push

In early July 2026 India’s Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat announced a long‑term plan to raise tourism’s share of GDP from about 6 percent to 10 percent by 2047, with an interim target of 7 percent by 2030. The strategy linked tourism‑driven decentralised development and job creation in transport, handicrafts and food‑beverage sectors to broader poverty‑reduction goals.

Two weeks later the Ministry earmarked ₹5,756 crore for 117 infrastructure projects nationwide and an additional ₹2,999 crore for 60 projects in the Northeastern states, to be funded through schemes such as Swadesh Darshan 2.0, Challenge‑Based Destination Development, PRASHAD and Pilgrimage Rejuvenation. Digital promotion via the Incredible India platform, expanded e‑visa categories and multilingual helplines were also rolled out.

By late July, the World Travel & Tourism Council reported that India’s travel and tourism sector generated $263.6 billion in 2025, supporting 46.2 million jobs and accounting for 6.6 percent of GDP. The sector grew 7.3 percent that year, outpacing the global average. WTTC projects revenue to reach $527 billion by 2036, moving India from the world’s tenth‑largest to the fourth‑largest tourism economy.

In the same period, Air India and the Ministry of Tourism signed an MoU to jointly market India abroad, coordinate storytelling, trade engagement and transit tourism, leveraging Air India’s network of 40 international destinations and extensive code‑share partnerships to attract higher‑value foreign visitors.