GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 26th Sept: India recorded around 56 lakh foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) and 303.59 crore domestic tourist visits till August 2025, according to official government data released on Friday.
The report highlights that medical tourism accounted for 1,31,856 FTAs (4.1 per cent of total foreign arrivals) up to April 2025.
Under the Sustainable and Responsible Tourism (SASCI) initiative, the government sanctioned 40 projects across 23 states in 2024-25, totaling Rs 3,295.76 crore, with full central funding. Through Swadesh Darshan 1.0 and 2.0, India has developed 110 projects across thematic circuits, including Ramayana, Buddhist, Coastal, and Tribal circuits.
As of June 2025, inbound tourism stood at 16.5 lakh visitors, while 84.4 lakh Indians travelled abroad, generating foreign exchange earnings of Rs 51,532 crore. Provisional estimates for 2023-24 show that tourism contributed Rs 15.73 lakh crore to GDP, about 5.22 per cent of India’s economy, and generated 36.90 million direct and 47.72 million indirect jobs—together accounting for 13.34 per cent of total employment.
Since 2014-15, the Swadesh Darshan Scheme has sanctioned 76 projects worth Rs 5,290.30 crore, of which 75 projects are complete, marking India’s transformative push to harness tourism for economic growth, employment, and cultural diplomacy.
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