India is now one of the fastest growing outbound tourism markets in the world, second only to China, with the Indian outbound numbers growing at an average annual growth rate of 10-12 percent over the last seven years. The United Nations World Tourism Organization estimates that India will account for 50 million outbound tourists by 2020.
The U.S. is becoming a top destination for Indian travelers, and in 2016 welcomed a new record of over 1.17 million visitors. India is poised to become one of the top 10 countries sending travelers to the United States and is expected to cross the 1.5 million visitor mark soon. Indian tourists’ gross spending share in the United States is nearly 1.5 percent times more than its closest rival, Australia, with shopping being their top activity.
MICE (Meeting, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions), including small corporate groups, is one of the fastest growing segments of Indian outbound travel. Mission India, the Visit USA Committee, Brand USA, destination representatives, as well as hotel and airline representatives have made a concerted effort to provide accurate information to Indian travel agents and corporate travel planners about the options that are available to them.
India provides a large opportunity for U.S. destinations and there is much more that can be done to gain market share and become the destination of choice for Indian travelers.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
