Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during presenting the Union Budget for 2025- 26 on 1st February that the government will develop top 50 tourist destination sites across India in collaboration with states in a “challenge mode”. Describing tourism as one of the major contributors to employment-led growth, she disclosed a number of initiatives for the purpose of strengthening the infrastructure, skill development, and ease of travel.
She also announced about providing collateral-free Mudra loans for strengthening the homestay businesses, which will facilitate the small-scale tourism enterprises in the expansion of their services, providing sufficient lodging arrangements for the travellers and contributing to the local economic growth. These initiatives have the potential to boost tourism in India, as said by Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the union budget for the eighth consecutive time. Earlier, co-founder and CEO of MakeMyTrip, Rajesh Magow, has been seen to say that homestays have emerged as a new promising category in the tourism business and will grow at a CAGR of 30 to 40 per cent in the next three to four years.
In the fiscal year 2025-26, the government has allocated a budget of Rs 2541.06 crore for the tourism sector, a significant increase from the allocation of Rs 850.36 crore in the fiscal year 2024-25. This budget allocation will focus on the upgradation of tourism infrastructure at tourist destinations and the enhancement of domestic and international travel, along with the emphasis on the safety of tourists, especially women.
The finance minister said, “The state governments will be responsible for providing land to build essential infrastructure. To further boost tourism, hotels in the key destinations will be included in the harmonised infrastructure list, ensuring better access to financing and development support”.
Key highlights from the Union Budget 2025-26 regarding the tourism sector
On the X platform, the Ministry of Tourism shared the key highlights of the Union Budget 2025-26 related to the development of tourist destinations and tourism growth. In relation to the achievement of the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047, several initiatives have been undertaken to promote the growth of the tourism business. In this regard, one of the areas in which it is focused is visa reforms. In order to boost inbound tourism at tourist destinations, e-visa facilities will be streamlined by the government while focusing on visa fee waiving for select tourist groups.
Strengthening Indian Tourism | #Budget2025
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget 2025-26, emphasized the comprehensive development of tourist centers to realize the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.
🔹 Visa… pic.twitter.com/27grx09uAV
— Ministry of Tourism (@tourismgoi) February 1, 2025The government has also emphasised spiritual and cultural heritage tourism to attract an increased number of tourists and international visitors. Under this tourism development plan, special focus will be given to the tourist destination sites and places which are associated with the life and time of Lord Gautama Buddha.
Additionally, for the enhancement of the cultural and spiritual tourism experiences at tourist destinations, adequate funding will be sanctioned to the Ministry of Tourism under the PRASHAD scheme. This scheme was introduced by the Indian government in the year of 2014-2015. PRASHAD is the acronym for “Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive”. The state governments and the administrations of Union Territories receive financial support through this scheme for tourism infrastructure development in the significant pilgrimage and religious sites. As per the data provided by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Union Minister for Tourism and Culture, as of now, under the PRASHAD scheme, around Rs 1594.40 crore has been sanctioned for a total of 47 projects in 27 States/UTs.
In the tourism growth plan, Sitharaman also focused on promoting medical tourism through the “Heal in India” initiative. As a part of this initiative, the emphasis will be given to the relaxation of the visa process and norms. Sitharaman also recognised the importance of the private-public sector collaboration in pushing medical tourism. India has become one of the major destinations for medical treatments and wellness tourism globally because of its high-quality healthcare services at affordable prices. The government further aims to further boost medical tourism to make it a key contributor towards the growth of the tourism economy of India.
The finance minister allocated a significant portion of the budget for the development of tourism infrastructure. In relation to this, there is an allocation of Rs 1900 crore in the Swadesh Darshan scheme in which the allocation was Rs 350 crore in the previous year. The focus of this scheme is on developing theme-based tourist circuits which will be accountable for promoting sustainable and responsible tourism. The number of sanctioned projects under this scheme is 76 till now.
The Union Budget 2025-26 also underscores the importance of preserving the manuscript heritage. In this regard, the finance minister launched the “Gyan Bharatam Mission”, which will focus on the protection and preservation of the invaluable knowledge and wisdom possessed by the manuscripts identified across the nation. This mission will seek to work with the collaboration of private collectors, museums, academic institutions, and libraries for surveying, documenting and conserving the manuscript heritage of India. More than 1 crore manuscripts will be covered under this initiative. A “National Digital Repository of the Indian knowledge system” will also be set up by the government for the purpose of knowledge sharing with others.
Securing our Virasat, one manuscript at a time.
The ‘Gyan Bharatam Mission’ announced by our Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman today will enable Bharat to preserve and protect the invaluable wisdom & knowledge held by these manuscripts found across the country.
– Smt.… pic.twitter.com/ytTJf7ODbu
— Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (@gssjodhpur) February 1, 2025The tourism ministry will provide emphasis to promote diverse tourist destinations in India, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast. The government will also focus on arranging international marketing campaigns and establishing representative offices in key markets like China, Spain and France to attract more international visitors. Accessibility to certain data and maps from the portal of PM Gati Shakti will be given to the private sector for improving their planning, and connectivity and optimising their services for obtaining an increased number of visitors in the tourist destination sites.
The ministry also made an allocation of Rs 60 crore for intensive skill development and training programs for the younger generation, especially in the Hospitality Management Institutions, for the fulfilment of the rising demand for skilled employees in the tourism industry and promoting employment-led growth in the particular sector. In order to build a secure environment for female visitors and create a safe tourist destination scheme for female tourists, significant investments through the Nirbhaya Fund have been emphasised.
Contribution of tourism to economic growth in India
The tourism sector of India is emerging and attracting an increasing number of visitors both from local and international locations because of its cultural diversity, rich heritage and spectacular tourist destinations. The tourism sector has been recognised as a key driver for economic growth, development and the improvement of quality of life in terms of generating various job opportunities. According to the Economic Impact Research (EIR) 2024 conducted by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the tourism sector has led to the generation of 42.94 million job opportunities and contribution of around more than Rs 19.13 trillion to the GDP of India in 2023.
In 2023, a record-breaking 9.24 million foreign tourists were found to have arrived at various tourist destinations in India in comparison to 6.44 million in 2022. Foreign tourist arrivals have led to earning around Rs 2.3 lakh crores in 2023. This reflects the significance of making higher investments in building an improved tourism infrastructure at tourist destinations in India. The top few global countries from which foreign tourists arrive in India include the United States, Bangladesh, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and many others.
FAQ
1. What is the Union Budget 2025-26’s focus on tourism development?
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during presenting the Union Budget for 2025- 26 on 1st February that the government will develop top 50 tourist destination sites across India in collaboration with states in a “challenge mode”.
2. How will the government support homestay businesses in India?
The government will provide collateral-free Mudra loans for strengthening the homestay businesses, which will facilitate the small-scale tourism enterprises in the expansion of their services, providing sufficient lodging arrangements for the travellers and contributing to local economic growth.
3. What is the allocated budget for the tourism sector in the fiscal year 2025-26?
The government has allocated a budget of Rs 2541.06 crore for the tourism sector in the fiscal year 2025-26.
4. What initiatives will be introduced to promote spiritual and cultural tourism?
Special focus will be given to the tourist destination sites and places which are associated with the life and time of Lord Gautama Buddha. Adequate funding will be sanctioned to the Ministry of Tourism under the PRASHAD scheme for the enhancement of cultural and spiritual tourism experiences.
5. What is the Gyan Bharatam Mission?
The finance minister launched the “Gyan Bharatam Mission” to focus on the protection and preservation of invaluable knowledge and wisdom possessed by the manuscripts identified across the nation. More than 1 crore manuscripts will be covered under this initiative.
