As per the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 by the World Economic Forum, India is ranked 11th in the Asia Pacific region and 62nd overall, moving up three places on the list of the world's attractive destinations. It is ranked the 14th best tourist destination for its natural resources and 24th for its cultural resources, with many World Heritage sites, both natural and cultural, rich fauna, and strong creative industries in the country. India also bagged 37th rank for its air transport network. The India travel and tourism industry ranked 5th in the long-term (10-year) growth and is expected to be the second largest employer in the world by 2019.

Official estimates on Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India reveal that a total of 5.58 million tourism arrived in India, with a growth rate of 9.3 per cent as compared to the 5.11 million during 2009. Similarly, the Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEE) from tourism in 2010 were US$ 14,193 million as compared to US$ 11.39 billion during 2009 and US$ 11.74 billion during 2008.

The current count of hotel rooms is 130,000, and the country is expected to require an additional 50,000 rooms over the next two to three years, according to World Travel and Tourism Committee (WTCC).