India Is Losing Tourism Dollars, Even as Domestic Travel Is Booming

India often talks about tourism as a key driver of its economy and about increasing the share of tourism. But isn’t doing much to work towards it. The country is earning less from foreign visitors than what Indians are spending while traveling abroad, and the gap is getting wider.

An analysis of Reserve Bank of India data by Skift, shows that India ran a travel trade deficit of more than $2.6 billion in the July–September quarter last year, as spending by Indians traveling overseas exceeded earnings from foreign visitors.

Just a year earlier, that gap was smaller, around $1.7 billion. The main reason for the jump wasn’t that Indians suddenly traveled much more, but that India earned far less from international visitors.

During that quarter:

Indians spent about $9.5 billion traveling abroad, slightly up from the year before.

But money earned from foreign tourists fell sharply, from over $7.6 billion to around $6.8 billion.

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