India’s tourism growth continues to be constrained by major infrastructure gaps, according to a National Tourism Day report released by LocalCircles, which found widespread public dissatisfaction with safety, sanitation, and facilities at tourist sites.
National Tourism Day is observed annually on January 25.
The survey revealed that only 22 percent of respondents felt that safety, security, and crowd management at tourism locations had been effective over the past three years.
Public sanitation emerged as a significant concern, with just 14 percent rating the cleanliness of public toilets as good. Nearly a quarter described conditions as poor, while 38 percent termed them pathetic or very poor.
Ticketing systems were another pain point. Only 40 percent of respondents said ticketing processes were satisfactory, while 29 percent rated them as poor. The report identified air pollution, poor sanitation, booking-related technology glitches, crowd mismanagement, and inadequate facilities as persistent problems affecting major tourist destinations.
Despite a global travel boom and a weaker rupee, foreign tourist inflows into India declined by 12.3 percent during the first three quarters of 2025 to 26, according to data cited from the Ministry of Tourism.
The survey received over 45,000 responses from citizens across 317 districts. Of the respondents, 67 percent were men and 33 percent were women. Around 42 percent were from tier one cities, 33 percent from tier two cities, and 25 percent from tier three, tier four, and rural areas.
The tourism sector contributes about 5 percent to India’s GDP. In 2024, India recorded 9.66 million foreign tourist arrivals, generating foreign exchange earnings of Rs 2.8 lakh crore, reflecting a growth of 20 percent.