India has resource potential but lacks policy and enabling environment for tourism growth: NITI Aayog

July 1, 2026 - 17:07

India holds significant resource potential for tourism but is held back by a weak policy framework and a poor enabling environment, according to a new report from NITI Aayog. The report, titled "Unlocking Growth in Tourism and Hospitality Sector," points to specific barriers that raise the time, cost, and overall complexity of travel and doing business in the sector.

The analysis identifies cumbersome regulatory processes and a lack of streamlined procedures as major obstacles. These issues create an unpredictable environment for investors and operators, making it harder for the industry to scale up. The report proposes a set of actionable reforms aimed at improving the ease of travel for visitors, simplifying bureaucratic red tape, and building a more efficient and predictable ecosystem for growth.

Without these changes, the report suggests, India will struggle to compete with other global destinations that have already modernized their tourism infrastructure and policies. The findings call for a coordinated effort between central and state governments to remove bottlenecks and unlock the sector's full economic potential.