At the PATA India Tourism PowerHouse 2026, Suman Billa, Additional Secretary and DG Tourism, GoI, laid out a clear assessment of where Indian tourism stands today — and what must change next.
Nisha Verma
Opening the forum, Suman Billa, Additional Secretary and Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, began by placing India’s tourism story within the larger economic context. “India has been the fastest-growing large economy for over a decade, and there is nothing to suggest that there is going to be a slowdown,” he said. He also pointed to unprecedented infrastructure expansion, from airports doubling in number to major upgrades in highways, rail, and aviation capacity.
He stressed that demand is already firmly in place. Rising incomes are translating into aspiration, domestic travel is “exploding”, and international interest remains strong. Yet, he cautioned, the tourism sector is not fully capitalising on this opportunity. “The conversion is not happening. India has demand and infrastructure, but not the institutional readiness to translate these into a vibrant tourism economy,” he said.
India’s missing growth multiplier
Despite its scale and diversity, tourism contributes only about 5.5 per cent to India’s GDP — roughly half the global average. “There is no reason why it should be so,” Billa said, calling tourism India’s “missing growth multiplier”.
Referring to the Prime Minister’s call to double tourism’s GDP contribution to 10 per cent, he stressed that the challenge is structural, not market-led. “The issue is not demand. The issue is largely structural readiness,” he noted. He argued that government must focus on creating conditions that allow entrepreneurs to invest, scale, and deliver. In his opinion, tourism remains India’s most under-leveraged engine for employment, foreign exchange earnings, and balanced regional growth.
He pointed out that India’s growth ambitions will remain constrained unless supply keeps pace with demand. He said the country needs three times its current room capacity, adding that 50 destinations have already been identified for priority development. However, unlocking this capacity will depend on whether investment conditions on the ground actually convert intent into projects.
From footfall to yield
Billa called for a key shift, which was moving away from footfall-led metrics. “We need to start focusing from footfall to a format where we look at the yield per tourist,” he said.
Growth, he believes, is inevitable; the real challenge lies in framing it responsibly and with resilience. “We are going to grow robustly and for a very long time,” he said. However, he added, the sector must be prepared for disruptions, as witnessed during COVID.
Management of destinations matters
Billa was clear that marketing alone will not define the next phase. “It is not enough to promote ourselves as Incredible India,” he said. He emphasised that delivery on the ground matters more than promises made. Professionally managed destination management organisations are critical to integrating infrastructure, community engagement, sustainability, and market intelligence, he argued. “India has year-round appeal, but not every destination does,” he noted, pointing to the need for smarter planning to address seasonality and uneven utilisation.
New digital traveller
Addressing the evolving global traveller, Billa said, “Every decision today is determined by digital searches.” He explained that the new-age traveller is digitally native, experience-driven, sustainability-aware, and value-conscious, requiring destinations to deliver personalised experiences.
City-level MICE hubs
Billa cautioned against viewing MICE competitiveness purely through a national lens, arguing that it is cities, not countries, that ultimately compete on the global stage. He noted, “MICE reflects a city’s overall competitiveness as a destination, making it essential to develop globally competitive urban hubs supported by institutionalised convention bureaus rather than fragmented, ad-hoc efforts.”
AI is inevitable
Turning to technology, Billa stressed that AI is inevitable and that destinations must take a proactive position. He said tourism planning must bring the Centre, states, and industry onto a single page. The next phase, he explained, must also shift the narrative from tourism as a job creator to tourism as a livelihood creator. “The next decade for India will not be defined by how many tourists we get, but by what kind of destinations we create and what kind of experiences we offer,” he concluded.
