State governments’ tourism-related infrastructure is still in need of further improvement as per a ‘National Tourism Day’ report by LocalCircles which stated that only 22% of the respondents reported safety, security and crowd management was effective at tourism sites over the last three years.
National Tourism Day is celebrated every year on Jan. 25, with the Uttar Pradesh government launching “a creative initiative with a special focus on engaging Gen Z, young creators, poets, writers and art enthusiasts” to mark the day, as per the report.
Public sanitation was also flagged as another concern with just 14% of the citizens who responded in the survey stating that the cleanliness of public toilets was “good”, with 23% calling it “poor”, and 38% terming them as “pathetic or very poor”.
The ticketing process was also another issue that citizens noted dissatisfaction with only 40% finding it satisfactory, and 29% indicating that it is poor.
The report named severe air pollution, poor sanitation, tech glitches in bookings, crowd mismanagement, and inadequate facilities as the major factors plaguing notable tourist sites
“According to Tourism Ministry data, despite a weaker rupee and a global travel boom, foreign tourist inflow declined by 12.3% in the first three quarters of 2025–26,” the report said.
The survey received over 45,000 responses from citizens located in 317 districts of India. Among the respondents, 67% were men while 33% were women, 42% were from tier 1 cities, 33% from tier 2 and 25% respondents were from tier 3, 4 and rural districts.
The report recommended that state governments focus on advance bookings, cooperation of local bodies and active engagement with tourism promotion boards with the tourist inputs as the avenues through which travel could be enhanced for tourists.
The tourism sector contributes 5% to India’s GDP. In 2024, India recorded Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) of 9.66 million which account for foreign exchange earnings of Rs 2.8 lakh crore with a growth of 20%, according to the Ministry of Tourism.
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