Why has India lost its East, Southeast Asian tourists?
What's the story
India's post-pandemic tourism recovery has been uneven, with a sharp decline in arrivals from East Asia (excluding China) and Southeast Asia. An analysis by Moneycontrol found that East Asia's share of foreign tourist arrivals fell to 3% in 2023, down from 4.1% in 2019. Meanwhile, Southeast Asia's share dropped to 8% in the same period after peaking at 9% in 2013.
Tourist drop
Numbers from Middle Eastern tourists also declined
The absolute number of tourists from Southeast Asia also declined, from 9.3 lakh in 2019 to 7.6 lakh in 2023. This is below the annual average of 7.7 lakh between 2014 and 2018. Similarly, West Asian or Middle Eastern tourists accounted for only 3.7% of foreign arrivals in India in 2023, down from over four percent for most of the last decade.
Recovery trends
South Asia emerged as India's largest source of foreign tourists
In contrast, South Asia has emerged as India's largest source of foreign tourists. Its share rose from 22.1% in 2014 to 30.9% in 2019, stabilizing at 29% in 2023. The post-pandemic recovery was also fueled by a spike in arrivals from North America, which increased from 17.1% of FTAs in 2019 to a whopping 21.8% by the end of this year.
Tourism growth
A look at numbers from Central and South America
Central and South America also witnessed a major increase in tourist arrivals to India, with their share jumping from around 0.9% for over a decade to 5.6% in 2023. This data indicates that the decline in tourist arrivals from East and Southeast Asia is not just due to the ban on Chinese tourists but points to a structural gap with Japan, South Korea, and ASEAN economies.