States of Play: US sees an Indian tourist boom, markets take notice

India is leading the world when it comes to growth rates in incoming tourist arrivals to the United States of America, and key states and markets in the country are taking note, said Fred Dixon, president and CEO of Brand USA in an interview with ET.

Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the US, was established by the Travel Promotion Act as the nation’s first public-private partnership to promote the United States of America as a premier travel destination and to communicate US travel policies and procedures to worldwide travelers.

In 2024, USA saw a record 2.19 million arrivals from India, a 24.3% increase from 2023, ranking number two for overseas arrivals after the UK (excluding Canada and Mexico) and number four in terms of total international arrivals to the country in 2024.


“India saw a 24.3% growth in 2024 over the prior year, but more importantly, it saw a 49% growth over pre pandemic times. So, India is a huge priority for us and is leading the world when it comes to growth compared to pre pandemic times,” said Dixon.

“Direct non-stop air capacity from India to the US has also seen the highest growth compared to 2019 than any other country. When you look across categories, India is leading in so many ways in terms of the various metrics. There is a lot of optimism and excitement about where India is going. We expect this pattern of growth to continue, and the trajectory will only go upwards,” he added.

Dixon said many states in the US are now seeing India rank in their top 10 or even among their top five source markets, and the country has moved consistently in the rankings.

In 2019, India was the tenth largest market for the US and in 2023, India was number five.

“In 2023, Germany was our number two market, so India has overtaken Germany to take the number two spot last year,” said Dixon.

“We got just over 4 million visitors from the UK last year and 2.19 million from India. We got 1.99 million visitors from Germany last year, followed by Brazil and Japan at 1.91 million and 1.8 million visitors respectively,” he added.

Dixon said the growth in visitors has come despite the challenges being cited in stretched visa appointment timelines in India. The United States opened 250,000 new visa appointments for Indian travellers owing to growing demand.

“The US government has been committed to finding solutions to this matter in terms of expanding hours and expanding facilities. The Hyderabad consulate is the largest visa processing centre in India now. A new consulate site opened in Bengaluru this month and we are going to be bringing more visa processing in future with that facility,” he said.

“It’s an ongoing dialogue with the US government. The US mission to India issued more than one million non-immigrant visas in 2024. So, a record number of visas are being granted and still there is so much more demand, which is a terrific problem to have,” he added.

Dixon spoke to ET on the sidelines of Brand USA’s 11^th India Sales and Media Mission. A delegation of 48 US tourism companies and 67 US exhibitors participated in the mission.

Liz Bittner, president and CEO of Travel South USA, a 12 state regional marketing alliance said Travel South USA is aiming for $ 500 million worth of forex spends through Indian travellers this year, up from around $ 340 million last year. India was the fourth biggest market of origin in terms of overseas spending in Boston last year, clocking $ 163 million dollars in spends.

Martha J Sheridan, president and CEO of Meet Boston, a private, non-profit tourism marketing organisation representing the city of Boston, Cambridge, and 45 cities and towns in the region said Meet Boston had not been very active in India previously, but it is recognising India as a market of potential.

“We got 106,000 visitors from India in 2024 and we are expecting that number to grow. India is our third biggest overseas market after the UK and China. By overseas, we mean any market that is not contiguous to the US,” she added.

India has been one of the most fascinating markets to watch for Travel Oregon, said Todd Davidson, CEO of Travel Oregon, the state tourism office for the state of Oregon.

“For a number of years, India may not have popped even in the top 15 markets for us. But, suddenly it is moving into the top 10 overseas markets. India is now the largest country in the world, English is not a barrier, and there is a strong interest in travelling to the US. That’s why we are here,” he added.

Doug Bourgeois, assistant secretary at the Louisiana office of tourism said the Indian traveller has become more adventurous. “India is truly a growing market. It’s a friends and family market and we are seeing some really impressive numbers,” he added.

John Percy, CDME, president and CEO of Destination Niagara USA said he has seen growth in India year after year. “We are one of the most iconic destinations that Indians want to visit and that has been the case for some time. India is our number one inbound international market, and it has now surpassed the UK and Germany for us,” he said. “We have an economic development grant from the federal government and we will be utilising some of those dollars in India this year to boost our awareness and presence further,” he added.