In charts: foreign tourist arrivals fall 14% in April as West Asia war weighs on travel

ESCALATING tensions in West Asia are beginning to leave a visible mark on India's tourism sector, disrupting both inbound and outbound travel and threatening an already fragile recovery in foreign tourist arrivals.

Foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) to India fell 14.4% year-on-year in April 2026, according to monthly statistics released by the tourism ministry. At 534,000 arrivals, the figure was also the lowest monthly tally since May 2025.

The April contraction was driven by a sharp, double-digit drop in arrivals from India's most lucrative long-haul markets. The UK and the US, which historically form the backbone of the country's international tourism base, recorded a 30.6% and 25.5% year-on-year decline in April 2026, respectively.

Most top source markets see tourist arrivals slide by double digits in April
Year-on-year change (%) in foreign tourist arrivals across major markets in April 2026

According to Pushan Sharma, director at Crisil Intelligence, the West Asia war has affected tourism due to higher travel costs and disruptions to air connectivity.

"The crisis in March and April led to the suspension of many routes — particularly those involving transit through the Middle East, which accounts for roughly 50% of passenger traffic to and from India. The resulting capacity cuts have further raised fares on the routes that continue to operate," Sharma said.

He added that higher fuel costs and fare increases, coupled with uncertainty around travel, have weakened tourist demand.

Gulf departures

The West Asia war has triggered a massive recalibration in Indian outbound travel. Departures to major West Asian commercial and leisure hubs have effectively slowed down, shifting global travel patterns for Indian tourists.

Indian departures to the UAE— a critical route for transit during international travel— plummeted 43.4% year-on-year. The trend extended across the Arabian areas as well, with travel to Oman shrinking by 28.1% and Saudi Arabia dropping by 22.8%. Long-haul outbound markets were also affected, with Indian departures to the US contracting by 25.4%.

Amid the uncertainty, popular tourism destinations of Southeast Asia have emerged as the primary beneficiary. Vietnam recorded an 18% jump in Indian arrivals, while Thailand saw a 2.1% increase. The numbers point to a clear, immediate pivot among Indian tourists toward safer, cost-effective regional corridors.

Further, arrivals from Bangladesh surged 34.5% to 39,000 in April, while Nepal and Japan also posted modest gains of 13.3% and 6.7%. However, this regional resilience was not enough to cushion the overall collapse in headline numbers, given the heavy reliance on high-spending tourists from western countries.

Widening gap

On an annual basis, FTAs for FY26 slipped by over 6% to 9.2 million, down from 9.7 million in FY25. Notably, the sector remains adrift from its pre-pandemic peak of 10.6 million arrivals achieved in 2018-19.

A Mint analysis published in December 2025 projected a subdued year for foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs), estimating them at 8.8 million in 2025. The actual figure came in slightly higher at just over 9.1 million, too, but still remained below both the previous year's level and the pre-pandemic benchmark.

India's inbound tourism recovery has continued to face intense competition from destinations such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, which offer stronger destination marketing, lower travel costs and easier visa access.

The latest setback also highlights the concentration of India's foreign tourist base. In 2024, just three countries—the US (18.1%), Bangladesh (17.6%), and the UK (10.3%)—accounted for nearly 46% of all international arrivals to India. When arrivals from these key markets weaken, India has few large source countries to make up for the shortfall.

Sharma also pointed out that inbound tourist arrivals to India in 2025 remained 16% below 2019 levels, while Vietnam had already surpassed its pre-pandemic benchmark. He attributed India's relative underperformance to weaker destination marketing, higher travel costs, limited visa facilitation and slower improvement in international air connectivity.