Bangladesh crisis crash-lands on Indian tourism

The political upheaval in Bangladesh is severely affecting India's inbound tourism industry, industry executives said.

Bangladeshi travellers, who make up a significant 23% of India's inbound tourism market, primarily come for medical tourism and shopping, particularly during peak periods such as Durga Puja and wedding seasons.

However, the recent unrest in Bangladesh has led to a dramatic 90% decline in outbound travel, according to officials from the Travel Operators Association of Bangladesh.


The crisis escalated about two weeks ago when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country amid growing student unrest. This situation led to temporary disruptions in flights and a suspension of all visas except for medical purposes. Though flight operations have resumed, an official from a low-cost carrier that operates flights to Dhaka, said the load factor for these flights has dropped by more than half.

Md. Taslim Amin Shovon, director of the Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh, told ET that outbound travel to India represents a substantial portion of Bangladesh’s travel market. "India is a key destination for Bangladeshi travellers, who account for 40-45% of outbound trips. The majority visit for medical treatment (over 80%), with shopping (15%) and leisure (5%) as secondary reasons. Kolkata is a favoured shopping hub, particularly before festivals, while Sikkim, Northeast India, and Kashmir also attract visitors."

Despite a 43.5% increase in tourist arrivals to India in 2023, the numbers remain 15.5% below pre-pandemic levels. India welcomed 9.23 million tourists last year, generating Rs 24,707 crore in foreign exchange. Bangladeshi tourists made up over 22.5% of this total, the largest share of any nationality.

Debjit Dutta, chairman of the Indian Association of Tour Operators’ (IATO) West Bengal Chapter, said the travel between Bangladesh and India has nearly ceased since the latest crisis began. “The government has stopped issuing visas, and only those with genuine medical reasons are granted visas. Travel operators, hotels, and guest houses near hospitals in West Bengal have experienced a near 90% drop in business."

Shovon agreed with this assessment.

“We’ve witnessed a 40% decline in bookings from Bangladeshi citizens after the unrest. Only those whose visas were pre-approved as patient assistants have arrived in the past 15 days. Our bookings for the next two months have been completely cancelled. In usual times, a month before Pujo, we are at 100% occupancy with at least 40-50% of guests being Bangladeshis who come to shop,” said a general manager at a leading five-star hotel chain in Kolkata, who requested anonymity.

The negative impact is not limited to five-star hotels. Small guest houses and shop owners are also feeling the strain, according to Dutta.

Medical tourism from Bangladesh to India had surged 48% in 2023, reaching 449,570 patients from 304,067 in 2022. Samit Bez, CEO and founder of Indiatreatments.com, a Kolkata-based medical tourism company, reported that his firm used to facilitate at least 150 Bangladeshi patients per month. "Now, the number has dropped to just five or six patients, with the rest cancelled."

Ram Gopal Bardhan, chief manager of International Health Care at Manipal Hospitals, said that Bangladeshi patients typically visit cities like Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, and Hyderabad. "We used to cater to around 1,700-2,000 patients monthly, generating Rs 120 to Rs 150 crore in revenue. However, we've seen a drastic drop to just a couple of hundred patients now. Many are opting for medical services in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore once their passports are returned."

Looking ahead, Shovon hopes the situation will begin to normalise by December. However, for India, this would mean a significant loss in revenue from its largest inbound travel contributor, experts said.