Maharashtra Sees Nearly 40 Lakh Foreign Tourist Visits in 2025, Tourism Data Shows
Pune, 28th September 2026: Maharashtra continues to attract a significant share of foreign tourists visiting India, with its historical, cultural, religious and natural attractions contributing to the state’s position as a major tourism destination.
The state is home to several internationally recognised tourist destinations, including the Ajanta and Ellora Caves, the Konkan coastline, Mahabaleshwar, Lonavala-Khandala and Tadoba. Pune district also attracts tourists with its historic forts and scenic destinations, including Sinhagad, Rajgad, Torna and Shivneri, as well as the Bhor, Mulshi and Maval regions.
According to data from the Union Ministry of Tourism, Maharashtra recorded around 33.88 lakh foreign tourist visits in 2023. The figure increased to 37.05 lakh in 2024 and approximately 40 lakh in 2025. Maharashtra accounted for 17.69 per cent of India’s total foreign tourist visits in 2025.
The figures underline the potential of tourism to generate employment and support local economies. Hotels, restaurants, local food outlets, handicraft businesses, transport services, tourist guides and rural homestays can provide livelihood opportunities to residents in and around tourist destinations.
Officials and tourism stakeholders have also highlighted the potential for involving women’s self-help groups, farmer-producer organisations and rural youth in tourism-related activities. Such participation can help ensure that a greater share of tourism-related economic activity benefits local communities.
Maharashtra’s tourism sector also benefits from Mumbai’s position as a major international air-transport hub. Besides leisure tourism, business and conference tourism, medical tourism and heritage tourism contribute to the state’s appeal among international visitors.
West Bengal followed Maharashtra with a 14.92 per cent share of foreign tourist visits, recording around 31.24 lakh visits. Gujarat recorded 22.74 lakh visits (10.86 per cent), Uttar Pradesh 22.69 lakh (10.83 per cent) and Rajasthan 20.72 lakh (9.90 per cent). Together, these five states accounted for approximately 64.34 per cent of India’s foreign tourist visits.
Delhi accounted for 9.55 per cent of foreign tourist visits, followed by Tamil Nadu at 5.55 per cent, Kerala at 3.53 per cent, Bihar at 3.52 per cent and Karnataka at 2.32 per cent.
Despite the growth in tourist visits, several destinations in Maharashtra continue to face challenges related to roads, sanitation, drinking water, parking, waste management, safety and tourist information facilities. Increased tourist footfall has also raised concerns about environmental pressure at some destinations.
With World Tourism Day observed on September 27, the focus is increasingly shifting towards sustainable tourism. Along with attracting more visitors, improving infrastructure, protecting the environment, preserving cultural heritage and increasing local community participation will remain important for the long-term development of Maharashtra’s tourism sector.
