Problems Foreign Tourists Find Most Challenging in India

As per a recent report published online, India has recorded a number close to 4,77,374 foreign travellers arriving on Indian shores in 2024. While there has been a surge in such statistics, tourism has yet to reach the same highs it experienced before COVID-19. As per the report, during the first half of the year 2024, foreign tourist arrivals reached 4,778,374. These numbers were reached after a reported no of 4,380,239 during the same period In 2023.

While the FTA numbers have showcased a venerable increase, there has been a considerable drop from the pre-COVID numbers of about 5,296,025. To bring the numbers back to where they were, Indian Airlines has sought to take new measures. These include the inclusion of new routes and an increase in flight frequencies. As per the latest numbers, Bali and Baku have become new travel destinations for the Indian middle class.  Even despite such newer travel pursuits for Indians, the influx of foreign tourists to India remains below the pre-COVID levels.

In recent years, one of the significant challenges to Indian tourism has been competition from neighbouring countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Sri Lanka, as well as their more affordable travel packages. To further ease travel for tourists, these countries have invoked easier visa policies, such as visa-free entries for Indian tourists, which have further diverted a major chunk of potential visitors away from India.

To combat the effects of the situation, major interventions have been brought forward to promote domestic tourism. Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji encouraged Indians to explore and visit domestic destinations. Despite these effects, there has been little effect on increasing foreign tourist arrivals in India. Even popular destinations such as Goa haven't been able to reach similar traveller statistics as before the COVID era.

Here are a few of the Changes Necessary to Boost the FTA Numbers

Additionally, enhancing the infrastructure and maintaining better civic facilities along with cleanliness would surely help improve the marketing campaigns.  Successful campaigns such as Incredible India and Athithi Devo Bhava could help and support the interest among visitors. The challenge of attracting newer tourists is no small task as they often seek similar services to those they are used to in their respective nations in India. Hence, a boost in overall infrastructure, as well as public transport and safety for women, remain prime concerns.

Countries That Have Been Able to Increase Tourism Post-Pandemic

The trends in post-pandemic tourism have not been similar for every country in the world; several countries have been above and beyond India's present conditions in attracting travellers.  Here is a list of the top 10 countries for travel and tourism in 2024.

The United States is at the top and still considered to be one of the most sought-after travelling locations in 2024; in 2023, the United States were able to host a whopping 80 million international tourists. Beyond that, Spain and Japan are on the list, which hosted about 70 million and 30 million foreign visitors in 2023, respectively. France ranked 4th while Australia ranked 5th, with 8 million international tourists and an additional about 60 billion dollars to its GDP in 2023. Further on the list remained Germany, China, Italy and Switzerland.

Here are a Few Major Causes of Faltering Tourism in India

To gain a better perspective of the issues that tourists might be facing in India, a recent report has been published by the Indian Travel and Tourism Department.  A general set of problems that travellers usually face during travel to India were ranked, and based on this study, the results were such. Foreign tourists ranked touting and cheating as one of the primary sources of troubles and issues; unhygienic Destinations were ranked 2nd while Inadequate Infrastructure at Railway Station and Airport. Further, foreign tourists ranked bad road conditions on 4th, bad treatment by shopkeepers and taxis at five, poorly managed attraction sights at 6, improper behaviour at 7, lack of civic comforts at 9, higher comparative hotel prices at 10 and Higher domestic airfare at 11.

Easy Mobility Within India for International Travellers

Since touting and overcharging are significant concerns due to the fact that foreign travel in India has been dwindling, we might have the perfect solution for all travellers planning to travel in India. Since we provide self-drive car rentals on easy terms, you can easily rent from us and forget about the challenges of having to wait for the right prices.

Over the years, we have provided support to a lot of foreign travellers, and hence, we have used our experiences to build a platform that offers the best support to foreign customers.  You can communicate with us before starting your trip to ensure that we can provide you with the best possible support with ease. Whether you need self-drive bike rentals or self-drive cars, we can support all your needs; since we have staggered our rental services into different affordable packages, you can easily choose the one that suits your needs and travel around seamlessly.

To ensure that all our customers face no issues while travelling, we follow rigorous maintenance schedules for all our vehicles. We guarantee that we follow the manufacturer's schedule for the maintenance and upkeep of all our cars. To help and support your travelling ambitions further, we also have a well-trained team of sales executives who ensure that every query and quote is met with the most ardent support.

So we will furnish all your requests whenever you plan your excursion to India. Further, we also provide extensive tours throughout India that you can opt for. Our social media community has a vast group of enthusiasts and adventurers. If you have a similar passion for adventure and thrill, you should join our Facebook community of travellers named Nomadiclan.