Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: The tension between India and Bangladesh, which resulted in fewer visas by both sides, resulted in an over 9% fall in foreign tourist arrivals to 90.2 lakh in 2025, with the eastern neighbour slipping from the second largest source to being the fifth biggest.Latest official data estimated tourist arrivals from Bangladesh at 4.7 lakh in 2025, 73% lower than the level in the previous year. The 12.8 lakh decline was more than the 9.3 lakh fall in the overall foreign tourist arrivals during the year.Travel industry insiders are not exactly moaning about this decline as they always questioned adding Bangladesh arrivals into FTA numbers as majority of them come for non-tourism purposes such as medical treatment and work and don’t exactly fill up hotels and line up at tourist spots.
On the other hand, the number of Indians going abroad rose 6.6% to a record 3.3 crore in 2025, although there was a dip in those going to Saudi Arabia and the US. Last year, the number of Indians flying to Canada also declined nearly 16% to 8 lakh.“India is outpricing itself in terms of star hotel rates despite reasonable domestic airfares in non-peak seasons. So, the Indian middle class now finds it cheaper to go to places like the UAE, CIS countries, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia than going to domestic destinations such as Goa or Kerala. And foreign tourists find a cheaper alternative to us,” said a leading travel agent.Many frequent Indian travellers say they get “good” hotel rooms for Rs 5,000-8,000 in these places while the same in India is at least double in low season and can increase manifold in peak holiday time.Asked about high tariffs, a leading hotelier said: “India is seeing a rise in business travel and domestic travel remains strong. So, we have no reason to worry over foreign tourists skipping till such time that our properties are full. The demand for luxury stays is far more than the supply and this imbalance will ensure good yields (rates) for the big players here.” Indian carriers are also expanding majorly on foreign routes to cash in on the boom in outbound travel.
