India Says Tourism Forex Earnings Reached ₹2.77 Lakh Crore as Digital Push Expands

India’s tourism foreign exchange earnings reached ₹2,76,831 crore in 2025, according to the government’s latest World Tourism Day backgrounder, as the Ministry of Tourism prepares to extend its digital infrastructure for travellers and tourism businesses. The figure, equivalent to about ₹2.77 lakh crore, is the latest official number cited by the government for earnings generated from tourism.

Published September 26, the Press Information Bureau backgrounder said tourism foreign exchange earnings had risen from ₹63,978 crore in 2021. That comparison covers the recovery from a pandemic-affected base, so it should not be read as a normal annual growth rate. The same note said domestic tourist visits reached 428.55 crore in 2025 and foreign tourist visits reached 2.53 crore.

A separate Ministry tourism data portal treats foreign tourist visits and foreign tourist arrivals as distinct measures. It lists 9.15 million foreign tourist arrivals for 2025, compared with 25.27 million foreign tourist visits. The distinction matters because the visits figure can reflect travel recorded across destinations and should not be interpreted as the number of distinct international arrivals into India.

Tourism remains a meaningful part of India’s economy

Tourism accounted for 5.22% of India’s gross domestic product in 2023-24, based on the latest Tourism Satellite Account estimates cited by the Ministry. Employment linked to the sector rose to 8.46 crore jobs in 2023-24 from 6.94 crore in 2019-20, according to the same government backgrounder. Those figures cover the direct and indirect economic role of tourism rather than only hotels, airlines or travel agencies.

Foreign exchange earnings are especially relevant because international visitor spending brings foreign currency into the economy through accommodation, transport, food, shopping and other tourism-related activity. The government has not presented the ₹2,76,831 crore number in the September 26 backgrounder as a forecast. It is reported as the 2025 outcome, alongside the latest tourist-visit data.

Domestic travel remains much larger by volume. The 428.55 crore domestic tourist visits reported for 2025 are more than six times the 67.7 crore visits cited for 2021. As with the foreign-visit measure, tourist visits are not the same as unique travellers. A person travelling to multiple destinations, or making multiple trips, can contribute more than one visit to the annual total.

Digital tools are moving deeper into the travel journey

Digital infrastructure is also expanding across the tourism journey. India’s e-Visa system, first introduced in 2014 for nationals of 43 countries, is now available to nationals of 172 countries, according to the September 26 note. Electronic entry is permitted through 88 international ports, including 37 airports, 38 seaports and 13 land ports. The government said roughly 78% of visas are now issued electronically and about 95% of e-Visa applications are processed within 72 hours.

On the traveller-facing side, the revamped Incredible India Digital Platform is designed to cover more of the planning and booking process. The Ministry says it offers virtual experiences across cultural, heritage, adventure, food, wellness, arts, crafts and rural tourism, while an AI-powered tool provides features such as real-time weather information, city exploration and travel services. The platform also connects users with online travel agents and other providers for flights, hotels, cabs, buses and tickets to Archaeological Survey of India monuments.

Behind that platform, NIDHI+ is being used as a digital registry and processing system for tourism businesses. As of September 23, the government said the database listed 63,740 accommodation units, 54 convention centres, 215 food business operators, 1,450 online travel aggregators and 15,531 tourism service providers. NIDHI+ supports online registration, recognition and classification, as well as payments and approval workflows.

Another part of the push is a June memorandum of understanding between the Ministry and Google India covering digital promotion, artificial intelligence, data-driven insights and capacity building. The government described the arrangement as non-commercial, non-binding and non-exclusive, with no financial implications for either side. Its stated aim is to improve destination visibility and visitor engagement while giving Ministry officials additional training in digital marketing, campaign optimization, content creation and emerging technology.

A national digital tourism stack is due next

Next comes the National Digital Tourism Stack, which Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is expected to unveil on September 27 at the World Tourism Day program at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The government describes the stack as open digital public infrastructure intended to make tourism offerings more discoverable, accessible and trustworthy. The September 26 release did not set out a detailed technical architecture, operating model or implementation timetable beyond the planned launch.

Dekho Apna Desh 2.0 is also due to be announced at the event. The government says the program will focus on tourism-ready, lesser-known destinations and on spreading visitor traffic more evenly rather than concentrating it only in established tourism centres. The Ministry is also expected to sign memoranda with industry organisations covering destination visibility, digital outreach, experiential tourism, sustainability and community participation.

For the tourism economy, the digital expansion is broader than a consumer website refresh. It includes visa processing, destination discovery, bookings, business registration, government data systems and a planned common digital layer for tourism services. The practical effect will depend on how widely the new stack is adopted, what services connect to it and how the government handles data quality, interoperability and access for smaller tourism businesses.

September 27 is the immediate milestone. Until the government publishes more technical details, the clearest measurable backdrop remains the tourism data already released: ₹2,76,831 crore in foreign exchange earnings for 2025, 428.55 crore domestic tourist visits and 2.53 crore foreign tourist visits.