How Many Americans Visit India Each Year?

As an American and travel blogger who’s been traveling in India since 2018, it’s interesting and helpful to know the tourism stats from other countries to India. So, how many Americans visit India each year?

In 2018, 1,456,678 Americans visited India, which is 5.8% more than in 2017 and 13.8% of India’s total foreign tourists. Also, Americans spent $214.5 billion on tourism in 2018, far more than any other country, and 14.8% of all India’s international tourism revenue.

Here are Top 10 Countries for Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India in 2018:

Rank	Country	FTAs	Percentage (%) of Total FTAs
1	Bangladesh	2,256,675	21.37
2	United States	1,456,678	13.8
3	United Kingdom	1,029,758	9.75
4	Sri Lanka	353,684	3.35
5	Canada	351,040	3.32
6	Australia	346,486	3.28
7	Malaysia	319,172	3.02
8	China	281,768	2.67
9	Germany	274,087	2.6
10	Russian Fed	262,309	2.48
Total Top 10 Countries		6,931,657	65.65
Other Countries		3,626,272	34.35
Total		10,557,929	100

If you’re wanting to understand the data on American tourists in India, the Ministry of Tourism releases a lengthy report each year with this data.

In this article, I’ve summarized the data with respect to American tourists, so if you’re interested in understanding the numbers, this article should be helpful to you.

How Many American Tourists Visited India in the Last 5 Years?

In 2014, 1,118,983 American tourists visited India and the rate has been growing by an average of 6.82% each year since then.

Here are the number of American tourists over the past 5 years:

	FTAs from America
2014	1,118,983
2015	1,213,624
2016	1,296,939
2017	1,376,919
2018	1,456,678

In 2014, America was sending more foreign tourists to India than any other country. However, in 2016, Bangladesh sent more tourists than the USA and has continued to send more significantly more since then.

The United Kingdom has always sent the third-largest number of tourists to India over the years.

Followed by a handful of countries which send are often among the top 10 countries sending tourists to India:

• Canada
• Malaysia
• Sri Lanka
• Australia
• Germany
• France
• China
• Japan
• Russian Federation

Here you can see the number of foreign tourist arrivals in India for the top 10 countries each year:

Source Country	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Bangladesh	942,562	1,133,879	1,380,409	2,156,557	2,256,675
United States	1,118,983	1,213,624	1,296,939	1,376,919	1,456,678
United Kingdom	838,860	867,601	941,883	986,296	1,029,758
Canada	268,485	281,306	317,239	335,439	351,040
Malaysia	262,026	272,941	301,961	322,126	319,172
Sri Lanka	301,601	299,513	297,418	303,590	353,684
Australia	239,762	263,101	293,625	324,243	346,486
Germany	239,106	248,314	265,928	269,380	274,087
China	N/A	N/A	251,313	N/A	281,768
France	246,101	230,854	238,707	249,620	N/A
Japan	N/A	207,415	N/A	N/A	N/A
Russian Fed	269,832	N/A	N/A	278,904	262,309

How Many Americans Get e-Tourist Visas To India?

In 2018, 274,583 Americans got an e-Tourist Visa for India and that was 11.6% of the total number of visas from all countries. This was the second-highest number of visas, behind the United Kingdom.

What is an e-Tourist Visa? It is the most convenient and easily-granted visa for foreign tourists to India. You can get a visa online from India’s official website and it’s the easiest way to get a visa.

If you want help getting a visa, I recommend using iVisa.

For a reasonable rate, they will make sure you get the visa you need and will handle any technical troubles that pop up. Some friends and audience members have gotten confused applying for visas or ran into problems. iVisa is great at taking care of these for you so you can focus on planning the more fun parts of your trip.

The top 15 countries granted E-Tourist Visas to India in 2018:

Rank	Country	E-Tourist Visas	% Share
1	United Kingdom	369,408	15.6
2	USA	274,583	11.6
3	China	146,348	6.2
4	France	129,297	5.5
5	Germany	107,290	4.5
6	Australia	99,443	4.2
7	Canada	98,858	4.2
8	Russia	78,358	3.3
9	Thailand	72,442	3.1
10	Italy	62,342	2.6
11	Oman	57,512	2.4
12	Malaysia	55,152	2.3
13	Spain	52,184	2.2
14	Republic of Korea	49,792	2.1
15	Singaore	45,799	1.9
	Others	671,133	28.3
	Total	2,369,941	100

How Much Do American Tourists Spend in India?

In 2018, Americans spent $214.5 billion on Indian tourism, which is 14.81 percent of the total International Tourism Receipts that year and the highest from any country. Americans spend 190.6% more than Spaniards, which is the second-highest spending country.

Apparently, Americans spend far more than other tourists in India. I’m not 100% sure why that is since the data doesn’t cover that, but I know from my own experience and speaking with American travelers here and I’ve heard:

• The luxury hotels are a great value compared to the USA and other Western counties. Spending $100 on a hotel is normal in the USA and will only get you a basic hotel. But spending $100 on a hotel in India might get you beachside views in Goa or views of the Taj Mahal in Agra.
• Spending more on restaurants and food can reduce your chance of stomach illness. Many restaurants in India are very economical. I analyzed the prices of good restaurants and found that you can eat really well for an average of $2.94 in major Indian cities. By spend a few dollars more you can get significantly better service and a lower risk of stomach illness (although many cheap restaurants are completely safe).
• The cost of living in India versus the US is 68.3% less expensive than America, so shopping seems like a great deal. My aunt went home with her suitcase stocked full of souvenirs and called India a “shopper’s paradise.”

The Top 10 Countries who spent the most on international tourism to India in 2018:

Rank	Country	Tourism receipts (in US $ billion)	Percentage (%) Share
1	USA	214.5	14.81
2	Spain	73.8	5.1
3	France	67.4	4.65
4	Thailand	63	4.35
5	UK	51.9	3.58
6	Italy	49.3	3.4
7	Australia	45	3.11
8	Germany	43	2.97
9	Japan	41.1	2.84
10	China	40.4	2.79
	Total Top 10 Countries	689.4	47.61
	Other Countries	730	50.41
	India	28.6	1.98
	Grand Total	1448	100

How Many Tourists Visit India Each Year?

In 2018, 10,557,929 total foreign tourists visited India in 2018. There were 10,035,803 total foreign tourists to India in 2017, so there was a 4.94% growth.

India ranks 34th in the entire world in tourism competitiveness, according to the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report. It moved up 6 places in 2017 and is in the top 25% of all countries in the world.

I looked into why tourists come to India and found:

• 50% of foreign tourists say “monuments, forts, palaces, museums” are their #1 motivation for visiting India.

I know my experiences visiting the monuments with my Mom and Aunt have been amazing. We saw the:

• Taj Mahal
• Agra Fort
• Fatehpur Sikri
• The Erotic Temples of Khajuraho
• The Ghats in Varanasi
• Centuries-old Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu

Final Words

In 2018, 1.45 million American tourists visited India and 274,583 Americans were granted e-Tourist visas. Americans spent $214.5 billion on tourism in India which is far more than any other country.

After traveling and living here since 2018, I can see why so many Americans would come here as well. The monuments are historic and so different compared to what we’re used to. Plus, prices of hotels, restaurants, transportation and shopping is a great value.

If you’re planning a trip to India and help with your visa, iVisa makes getting your visa super easy. You can use this link to learn the details and you’ll help support this blog as well at no cost to yourself.

Related Articles:

• What is the Cost of Living in India Versus the USA?
• 36 Gifts To Take From The US To India on Your Next Trip
• 4 Reasons India is a Popular Tourist Destination
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Living in India: An American’s Thoughts