India’s travel market in 2026: data-driven insights for travel agencies

Short answer: India’s travel market is overwhelmingly domestic. Indians made about 294.8 crore domestic tourist visits in 2024, up 17.5% in a year, with Uttar Pradesh the most visited state. Outbound travel is also growing, with 3.09 crore departures by Indian nationals in 2024 (+10.8%), led by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the US, Thailand and Singapore. Meanwhile foreign tourist arrivals fell about 8% in 2025, and domestic air traffic has been flat in 2026. For travel agencies, the opportunity in 2026–27 is clear: domestic and spiritual travel, short-haul international packages, and selling smartly in a market where flights are no longer growing fast.

Last updated: 10 October 2026. Official figures for 2024 are provisional.

India’s travel market in numbers

Metric	Latest figure	Source
Domestic tourist visits (2024)	2,948 million (~294.8 crore), +17.5% vs 2023	Ministry of Tourism, India Tourism Data Compendium 2025
Most-visited states (domestic, 2024)	Uttar Pradesh 646.8 mn, Tamil Nadu 306.8 mn, Karnataka 304.6 mn	Ministry of Tourism
Departures of Indian nationals (2024)	30.89 million (~3.09 crore), +10.8%	Ministry of Tourism
Top outbound destinations (2024)	UAE, Saudi Arabia, USA, Thailand, Singapore, UK	Ministry of Tourism
Outbound trips by air	98% of departures	Ministry of Tourism
Foreign tourist arrivals (2025)	9.15 million (revised), −8.1%	Ministry of Tourism data, via CAPA
Domestic air passengers (Jan–Aug 2026)	1,105 lakh, −0.18% year on year	DGCA
Domestic air passengers (Aug 2026)	121.26 lakh, −6.3% year on year	DGCA

Sources: India Tourism Data Compendium 2025 (Ministry of Tourism); foreign arrivals via CAPA; DGCA traffic data via The Tribune.

Insight 1: Domestic travel is the main market

Nearly 295 crore domestic visits in a year dwarfs every other travel number in India. Domestic demand grew 17.5% from 2023 to 2024. For most agencies, family holidays, weekend getaways, hill stations and religious circuits within India are where the volume is.

What to do: build fixed-date, clearly priced domestic packages (“Manali 4N/5D from ₹14,999 per person, Volvo + hotel”) and advertise them to the cities that travel there. Specific offers beat “customised tours” in ads.

Insight 2: Spiritual and pilgrimage travel is huge

Uttar Pradesh led all states with about 646.8 million domestic visits in 2024, more than double the next state. Circuits like Ayodhya, Varanasi (Kashi) and Prayagraj draw families from across India throughout the year, with peaks around festivals.

What to do: pilgrimage packages work well with Meta lead ads aimed at families and older travellers, followed up quickly on WhatsApp. Pair them with simple inclusions (darshan, hotel, transport) and transparent per-person prices. Our Meta ads cost guide includes real travel cost-per-lead data.

Insight 3: Outbound travel keeps growing, and it’s short-haul

Departures by Indian nationals grew about 10.8% to 30.89 million in 2024. The top destinations include the UAE, Thailand and Singapore: short-haul, visa-friendly trips that suit 4–6 night packages for families and couples.

What to do: run Dubai, Thailand, Singapore, Bali and Vietnam packages as dated offers before peak seasons (winter break, summer holidays, honeymoon months). Visa help and EMI options are strong selling points in ads.

Insight 4: Flights have stopped growing fast, so sell value

DGCA data shows domestic air passengers were essentially flat in January–August 2026 (−0.18%), with August down 6.3% year on year. Flight capacity and fares matter more to travellers’ decisions now.

What to do: promote road-trip and train-based packages for nearby destinations, push early-booking fares, and make “best value” offers that bundle transfers and hotels so customers compare totals, not just airfare.

Insight 5: Inbound foreign tourism is soft, so don’t over-depend on it

Foreign tourist arrivals fell about 8% to 9.15 million in 2025. Coverage attributes much of the drop to fewer visitors from Bangladesh, plus seasonal and global factors. Arrivals including NRIs fell only 1.7%.

What to do: unless inbound is your speciality, balance your marketing towards domestic and outbound Indian travellers, and the NRI segment visiting family.

Insight 6: Winning agencies sell on WhatsApp, fast

Travel enquiries are compared across several agencies. Whoever replies first with a clear itinerary and price usually wins. With 958 million Indians online and most travel queries starting on a phone, that reply happens on WhatsApp. See our India digital market numbers.

What to do: reply within minutes, qualify with buttons (dates, travellers, budget), send the itinerary PDF and a UPI payment link, and track every enquiry in a CRM.

• The WhatsApp follow-up playbook for travel agencies
• Click-to-WhatsApp ads: cost and setup
• Travel CRM: 9 features that matter

A 2026–27 marketing calendar for travel agencies

When	What to promote
October–November	Diwali break trips, winter holiday early-birds, pilgrimage circuits (see our Diwali ads plan)
December–January	Christmas and New Year trips, Goa, Rajasthan, Kerala, Dubai, Thailand
February–March	Honeymoon packages, Holi getaways, early summer bookings
April–June	Summer vacations: hill stations, Kashmir, Ladakh, Europe and Southeast Asia
July–September	Monsoon getaways, Kerala, festive-season pre-bookings

Frequently asked questions

How many domestic tourist visits are there in India?

According to the Ministry of Tourism’s India Tourism Data Compendium 2025, India recorded about 2,948 million (around 294.8 crore) domestic tourist visits in 2024, up 17.5% from 2023. These figures are provisional.

Which Indian state gets the most domestic tourists?

Uttar Pradesh led in 2024 with about 646.8 million domestic visits, followed by Tamil Nadu (306.8 million) and Karnataka (304.6 million), per the Ministry of Tourism.

How many Indians travel abroad?

Indian nationals made about 30.89 million departures in 2024, up 10.8% year on year. The top destinations were the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the USA, Thailand and Singapore, and 98% travelled by air.

Is foreign tourism to India growing in 2025–26?

No. Foreign tourist arrivals fell about 8% to 9.15 million in 2025, largely because of fewer visitors from Bangladesh, according to official data reported by CAPA.

Sources: Ministry of Tourism, India Tourism Data Compendium 2025 (provisional 2024 data); CAPA on 2025 foreign arrivals; DGCA domestic traffic via The Tribune.