Tourism is a dynamic sector that enhances cultural exchange, economic growth, and global connectivity. It serves as a bridge between people and places, showcasing the region's heritage, diversity, and natural beauty.

The theme for World Tourism Day 2025 is “Tourism and Sustainable Transformation,” emphasising tourism’s power to promote positive change. Achieving this requires more than growth; it also involves good governance, strategic planning, effective monitoring, and clear priorities that are aligned with long-term sustainability.

Malaysia will host the World Tourism Day and the World Tourism Conference (WTC) 2025 in the city of Melaka from September 27th to 29th.

World Tourism Day, observed annually on September 27, is an initiative of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). It commemorates the adoption of the UNWTO statutes in 1970and emphasises the sector's role in supporting the socio–economic growth of countries and advancing the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was celebrated for the first time in the year 1980.

Tourism is one of the major economic sectors, contributing to exports and promoting global prosperity. In the last decade, the Government of India has taken up many transformative initiatives to scale up and revolutionise this sector so that it can realise its full potential as a force for economic growth, employment generation, and cultural diplomacy. As on June 2025, inbound tourism stood at 16.5 lakh visitors, while outbound tourism was recorded at 84.4 lakh travellers. This activity contributed to foreign exchange earnings amounting to Rs.51,532 crores.  In addition, as per the provisional estimates of the National Accounts Statistics 2025, the tourism sector contributed ?Rs.15.73 lakh crore to India’s GDP in 2023-24, accounting for 5.22% of the total economy. Besides that, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), the sector generated 36.90 million direct employments and 47.72 million indirect employments, together accounting for 13.34% of total employment in the economy.

These initiatives, aligned with the government’s agenda of “Vikas” (development) and “Virasat” (heritage), have redefined the sector in terms of scale, inclusivity and sustainability. Some major highlights are as follows:

India recorded approximately 56 lakh Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) till August 2025.India recorded 303.59 crore Domestic Tourist Visits till August 2025.The total number of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) for medical purposes in India during 2025 (up to April) is 1,31,856, which constitutes approximately 4.1% of the total FTAs during this period.

In 2014-15, the Ministry of Tourism launched the Swadesh Darshan Scheme (SDS) to develop thematic tourism circuits across the country.  76 projects worth?5,290.30 crore were sanctioned under identified themes, of which 75 projects have been physically completed.

This scheme has been revamped as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0)in 2023 to develop sustainable tourism destinations that take a tourist- and destination-centric approach.Under SD2.0, over the last two years, the Ministry has sanctioned 52 projects worth ?2,108.87 crore.

A few of the sites that have been covered under the scheme include –Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Coastal Circuit): Development of Long Island, Ross Smith Island, Neil Island- Havelock Island,Baratang Island-Port BlairBihar (Buddhist Circuit): Development of Buddhist circuit- Construction of Convention Centre at Bodhgaya Arunachal Pradesh (North-east Circuit): Development of Bhalukpong- Bomdila and TawangAssam (Wildlife Circuit): Development of Manas– Probitora– Nameri– Kaziranga– Dibru– SaikhowaChhattisgarh (Tribal Circuit): Development of Jashpur- Kunkuri- Mainpat- Kamleshpur - Maheshpur -Kurdar - Sarodhadadar- Gangrel- Kondagaon– Nathiyanawagaon- Jagdalpur- Chitrakoot- TirthgarhHimachal Pradesh (Himalayan Circuit): Development of Himalayan Circuit: Kiarighat, Shimla, Hatkoti, Manali, Kangra, Dharamshala, Bir, Palampur, ChambaPuducherry (Heritage Circuit): Development of Franco-Tamil Village, Karaikal, Mahe and YanamUttarakhand (Eco Circuit): Integrated Development of Eco-Tourism, Adventure Sports, and Associated Tourism Related Infrastructure for Development of Tehri Lake & Surroundings as New Destination-District Tehri

Under the Challenge-Based Destination Development (CBDD) scheme, a part of the Swadesh Darshan programme, the Ministry of Tourism has chosen 42 destinations across four key themes:

Culture and HeritageSpiritual and Eco-Tourism Amrit Dharohar Vibrant Villages Programme.

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