The West Asia conflict led to over 20 per cent reduction in overseas travel by Indians in March and April, provisional data released by the union tourism ministry shows.Foreign travel arrivals declined by over 5 per cent and 14 per cent in March and April respectively, it shows.United Arab Emirates is the largest destination for Indians, accounting for over 25 per cent of all travellers. The airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi also are key hubs for Indian travellers. Saudi Arabia is the second biggest destination. Both the countries, along with others in West Asia saw a drop in traffic due to airspace closures and flights cancellations.Provisional data on Indian national departures released by the ministry shows that 22.34 lakh Indians travelled overseas in April, 22.5 per cent lower than last year. In March, the number of Indians travelling overseas declined from 28.6 per cent to 18.3 lakh.The data includes the purpose of travel such as leisure, business, education or pilgrimage. It also captures details of the Indian diaspora returning to their place of residence.Saudi Arabia slipped from second place in March, while Kuwait and Qatar dropped out from top destinations for Indians. Thailand and Vietnam, popular destinations for Indian tourists, gained traffic in March and April.Inbound travel slows down. Traffic from UK rose in MarchUS, UK, Australia, Canada and Bangladesh remain the biggest source market for Indian tourism. April arrivals from Bangladesh and Japan registered growth, while other major markets saw decline. In March, arrivals from the UK and Australia were higher in addition to those from Bangladesh.Arrivals from Bangladesh are growing in 2026, but remains far below 2024 figures. It was the second largest source market in CY 2024, but fell to 5th spot in 2025 due to over 70 per cent drop in traffic.“Overseas travel demand has slowed down especially to US and Europe due to high airfares and fuel surcharges. Leisure travel to West Asia has been dented due to the war. A few corporates have delayed their meetings, incentive, exhibition and conference (MICE) travel by a year. On the inbound side, agents are waiting for the conflict to end and fares to ease for demand revival,” said Anil Kalsi, vice president of Travel Agents Federation of India.Published on June 7, 2026