Tourism & Heritage

India's tourism push over the past decade combined new infrastructure with heritage conservation. Schemes like Swadesh Darshan (themed tourist circuits) and PRASHAD (pilgrimage-site development) launched in 2014-15, the e-visa facility was extended to well over 150 countries, and campaigns such as Dekho Apna Desh encouraged domestic travel. India's count of UNESCO World Heritage Sites reached 44 by 2025, the sixth-most of any country.

A wave of place-making reshaped major sites. The Statue of Unity (2018), at 182 m the world's tallest statue, anchored a new tourism zone in Gujarat. Pilgrimage corridors were rebuilt at Kashi Vishwanath (Varanasi), Mahakaal Lok (Ujjain), Kedarnath, Somnath and Ayodhya, while the Char Dham highway and ropeways improved access to remote shrines. The Maha Kumbh 2025 drew record crowds, and Buddhist and heritage circuits were expanded.

India's tourism runs on two very different engines. Domestic tourism — billions of trips a year, largely for pilgrimage and family travel — is the vast, steady base. Foreign tourism is smaller but high-value in foreign exchange. The government's role is enabling: developing circuits and facilities (Swadesh Darshan for themed routes, PRASHAD for pilgrimage sites), easing visas (e-visa), and marketing (Incredible India), while states and private players run the actual hospitality.

Foreign arrivals recovered to about 10 million in 2024, domestic visits run into the billions, and tourism contributes over 5% of GDP and tens of millions of jobs — with a stated goal of 100 million foreign tourists by 2047. The next step is balancing footfall with care — upgrading infrastructure and cleanliness at crowded heritage sites, spreading tourists beyond a few hotspots, easing entry further, and protecting monuments and ecosystems from the very crowds they attract.

The next step is balancing footfall with care — easing over-tourism at flagship sites and strengthening the Archaeological Survey so India's heritage is protected as visitor numbers rise.

44 UNESCO World Heritage Sites by 2025 (6th-most globally). 182 m Statue of Unity — world's tallest. 150+ countries with e-visa access. Swadesh Darshan / PRASHAD circuit schemes. Sources: Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture, ASI, UNESCO.