Tourism down 10–15%

India’s inbound tourism has fallen again, with industry estimates showing a 10% to 15% drop as the West Asia conflict disrupts travel into the country. (malaysiasun.com) Anil Parashar of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the sharpest hit is in meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions travel, along with metro hotel segments that depend more heavily on foreign guests. The chamber’s report was released on April 16, 2026. (lokmattimes.com) The pressure comes after a weaker 2025 for inbound travel. India’s foreign tourist arrivals fell to 90.2 lakh in 2025, down 9.4% from 2024, according to official data cited in February. (hindustantimes.com) Parliament data cited by CNBC-TV18 showed arrivals in January-October 2025 fell from 79.17 lakh in the same period of 2024 to 69.8 lakh. The Ministry of Tourism said visitor numbers depend on visa rules, safety perceptions, marketing, foreign policy conditions and travel costs, not just exchange rates. (cnbctv18.com) The latest shock is tied to aviation. PHDCCI said airspace restrictions and rerouted international flights have added two to four hours on key routes and pushed up fuel burn and operating costs for airlines. (cityairnews.com) That matters for India because Gulf hubs sit on some of the busiest corridors linking the country to Europe, North America and parts of Africa. When those routes become less reliable or more expensive, India-bound leisure and business trips get harder to sell. (cityairnews.com) Airlines have already been adjusting schedules. On April 1, Air India and IndiGo issued advisories for Gulf-region operations, and the Air India group said it would run 30 flights to and from West Asia that day, including 16 to the United Arab Emirates, with operations subject to slots and local conditions. (livemint.com) The tourism slowdown is not hitting every segment equally. PHDCCI said domestic demand is still supporting hotel occupancy, even as premium and business hotels that rely more on international travelers face tighter margins. (cityairnews.com) India’s tourism ministry still describes the sector at scale, with its data portal showing more than 20 million international tourist arrivals, more than 9 million foreign tourist arrivals and average stays of 18 days. The immediate problem is that a sector still rebuilding from one weak year is now absorbing another external shock. (data.tourism.gov.in)