India Must Strengthen Global Tourism Push To Boost Forex Earnings, Says FAITH Chief

As India looks to strengthen foreign exchange earnings and expand its tourism economy, industry leaders are calling for a renewed international marketing push to attract more foreign travellers to the country.

Puneet Chhatwal, chairman of the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH), said India needs stronger overseas tourism promotion efforts similar to the “Incredible India” campaign to improve international visitor numbers and enhance the country’s tourism-driven forex income.

According to a report by the Business Standard, speaking in an interaction with Business Standard, Chhatwal said India should focus not only on conserving foreign exchange but also on generating higher forex revenues through inbound tourism.

“When we talk about foreign exchange savings, we also need to talk about earning forex. We have to do more to increase visitation to India, and for that we need some form of international marketing like we did Incredible India over 20 years ago,” Chhatwal said.

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Tourism Promotion Budget Reduced:

Chhatwal, who is also the managing director and chief executive officer of Indian Hotels Company Ltd, noted that while India has witnessed growing visits from foreign government delegations following the G20 summit, the country still attracts fewer leisure tourists than its tourism potential would suggest.

His comments come after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for reducing overseas travel to help conserve foreign exchange reserves.

India recorded more than 9 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2025, contributing approximately $31.33 billion in forex earnings. Although arrivals remain below pre-pandemic levels, tourism-related foreign exchange earnings have continued to increase.

However, according to Budget documents, the allocation for overseas tourism promotion and publicity for FY27 has been reduced sharply to ₹3.5 crore from ₹43.5 crore in FY26.

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Tourism Seen As Growth Driver:

Industry executives cited in the report warned that India’s long-term target of attracting 100 million foreign tourist arrivals by 2047 could become difficult to achieve with such limited promotional spending.

Chhatwal said stronger international tourism campaigns would help improve employment generation, economic growth and the global soft power of “Brand India”.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the travel and tourism sector contributed ₹22.5 trillion, or 6.6 per cent, to India’s GDP in 2025. WTTC estimates this could rise to ₹41.9 trillion by 2035.

Chhatwal also highlighted the success of spiritual tourism, especially in Uttar Pradesh after the Kumbh event, while calling for better infrastructure status, lower taxation and easier approvals for hotel development to support long-term tourism growth.