NEW DELHI: India’s peak outbound travel month of June saw a decline in the number of Indian visitors to the US in 2025 over the previous year for the first time this millennium, barring the Covid period.With 2.1 lakh Indians headed to America in June, the number was 8% lower than 2.3 lakh in same month last year, according to data from the US commerce deptartmen’s National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO). The provisional figure for this July shows a 5.5% fall over the same month last year.
Overall, the US has been seeing a decline in international visitors – and not just from India – in recent months. NTTO says the total non-US resident international visitor volume to the US decreased 6.2% in June 2025 over June 2024, 7% in May, 8% in March, and 1.9% in Feb. This Jan saw a 4.7% increase over same period last year, and April was up 1.3%.India is the fourth-largest source market for international visitors for the US. Since the two biggest source markets – Mexico and Canada – share a land border, India is the second-biggest overseas source market, with the UK being the largest. “Combined, these top five source markets (Brazil being the fifth) accounted for 59.4% of total international arrivals” this June, says NTTO.While travel industry biggies here say it is too early to pin the blame for the fall in Indian visitor numbers on the stricter visa regime adopted by Donald Trump in his second presidency, the impact could be more pronounced going ahead if the same continues. The reason: the US mostly issues 10-year-validity multiple entry visitor and business visas (B1/B2) so people who already have them can keep travelling. But if new visas get impacted for reasons like long appointment times or stricter issuance norms, then with a time lag impact will be visible.“We are seeing a visible impact on the student segment this year due to delay in visa issuance even after people securing college admissions. Historically, the biggest categories of visitors headed from India to the US have been visiting friends and relatives, business and students. The US was never a top leisure destination for Indians. That space has been led by Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe. North America came after that. Right now, apart from students, we are not seeing a dramatic impact on the other segments. But if new visa issuances are affected, they will also be hit with a certain time lag,” said a travel agent.With Indian diaspora of over 50 lakh, the US sees great demand for travel from the US.
