Bengaluru: The number of foreign tourists visiting Karnataka is beginning to plateau, having failed to recover since the pandemic-induced dip in numbers. This year, up until October, the state saw only 3.5 lakh foreign tourists. With just two months left in the current year, the figure is far below the 2019 figure of approximately six lakh.
Industry insiders blamed safety concerns and poor marketing strategies for the trend. In October, the state saw only 19,472 foreign tourists — a sharp drop from the 50,366 footfalls in October 2024.
September saw 22,234 foreign tourists, while the corresponding figure in 2024 was 27,609.
As Karnataka gets a good chunk of its foreign tourists in the latter half of the year, mostly between October and December, officials in the tourism department believe there’s still hope for the numbers to rise.
However, the state has consistently received fewer than 5 lakh foreign tourists since the Covid-19 lockdowns.
Karnataka hosted 4.85 lakh tourists from abroad in 2024 and 4.09 lakh in 2023. Pre-pandemic, in 2019, the state had welcomed approximately 6 lakh foreign tourists, but just 0.56% of the national inflow in that year.
Safety concerns
The downward trend in foreign visitors isn’t limited to Karnataka, said Akram Pasha, director, Department of Tourism. “Multiple countries have issued advisories stating that it is unsafe, which has deterred inbound tourists from visiting the country. This has led to lots of negative publicity. We’re working to push things in a more positive direction,” he told DH.
The two rape cases, where tourists were attacked in Hampi and Koppal, in March tainted the image of the state, believe industry insiders. While tourists flock in every year to witness the state’s legendary Dasara celebrations, the numbers were extremely low this year, they said.
“This year, we saw about 20 foreign tourists and almost each one had the same concern about how safe Karnataka is. There is a sense of mistrust, so we have to assure them that we work with only trusted individuals and that overall, Karnataka is a safe state,” said Karthik Marathe, who runs Nesara Tours. This year, his company saw tourists majorly from the Czech Republic, Germany and Sweden.
In 2025, up until October, only three months saw over 50,000 foreign tourists — January, February and March. The highest number of foreign tourists was in February, at 64,899, and the lowest in June, at 17,152.
Poor marketing
Another reason for the plateauing number of foreign tourists is the lack of sustainable marketing both at the state and national levels, said Rohit Hangal, director, Sphere Travelmedia and Exhibitions.
“Both governments of India and Karnataka have reduced the budget for tourism marketing. If they want people to come in, they have to go out and spend. Inbound tourism is a brutally competitive business. Karnataka offers both heritage and wildlife. They need to plan a focused marketing campaign, revolving around this. And it needs to be a long-term plan, sustainable for at least five years,” he elaborated, adding that there is also a need for expanding the hospitality sector.
“Unesco announced the Hoysala temples (in Halebidu, Belur and Somanathapura) as World Heritage Sites. But we have no five-star hotels anywhere near them. This needs to change,” he added. Industry insiders also pointed to the weakening of economies this year in both the US and Europe as plausible reasons for the lack of inbound tourism.
Despite the low interest of inbound tourism in Karnataka, Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport continues to maintain a modest but stable share of foreign tourist arrivals (FTA). In 2025, the airport saw 6.9 lakh FTAs, about 8.4% of the national share.
Cut-off box - Tourism conclave today The Department of Tourism is organising a tourism conclave in Bengaluru on December 5 aiming to share ongoing cultural and tourism developments in Karnataka with foreign diplomats stationed in the state capital.