Domestic tourists may contribute the lion’s share of arrivals to Madhya Pradesh, but the central Indian state is working to raise awareness among overseas travel agencies and foreign travellers
The central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh offers a diverse range of tourism products, from wildlife experiences to rich heritage sites. While the state continues to attract strong domestic tourist arrivals, inbound visitor numbers remain comparatively modest.
According to statistics released by India’s Ministry of Tourism, Madhya Pradesh received 133.176 million domestic tourists in 2024, in contrast, the state welcomed 0.168 million international tourists in the same year.
The Madhya Pradesh government is now focusing on developing niche tourism segments, such as rural and textile tourism to broaden its appeal. Earlier this year, Madhya Pradesh implemented its Tourism Policy 2025 with the aim of positioning the state as one of the most preferred tourist destinations in the country. With this approach, it can better attract private investment in tourism.
Sandeep Arora, director at Brightsun Travels, said Madhya Pradesh’s strong tourism demand is a result of varied tourism assets.
“The state has tourism assets across wildlife (Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Pench), heritage (Khajuraho, Mandu, Gwalior and Orchha), and spiritual (Ujjain and Omkareshwar),” Arora said.
In fact, spiritual tourism has been a major crowd puller in Madhya Pradesh, with six of the top 10 tourist destinations in the state being religious places.
“In spiritual tourism, Ujjain topped the list with 73.2 million arrivals in 2024, a increase of 39 per cent compared to the previous year. Destinations like Khajuraho, Gwalior, Bhopal, Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Panna, Indore, Pench, and Orchha are top attractions for international visitors,” shared Sheo Shekhar Shukla, additional chief secretary, (tourism & culture), government of Madhya Pradesh.
Arora agrees that spiritual tourism has been Madhya Pradesh’s biggest advantage in 2025.
“This growth has been further amplified by improved road connectivity, which has made Madhya Pradesh far more accessible for short, road-based trips. While Delhi NCR continues to be an important feeder market, there is a noticeable rise in visitors from Gujarat and other western regions, with many travellers opting for two-to-four-day spiritual circuits, such as Ujjain-Omkareshwar-Indore,” he observed.
Abhishek Bhattacharya, head of sales with accommodation chain WelcomHeritage, stated that domestic travellers have fed his business.
“We have two properties in Madhya Pradesh – WelcomHeritage Golf View, Pachmarhi and WelcomHeritage Jungle Home, Pench – for which demand is mainly fuelled by the domestic markets,” he told TTG India.
Demand from international segments has remained the same as 2024, with Indonesia being a major source market for WelcomHeritage.
While Madhya Pradesh continues to attract interest primarily from the US and the UK, especially for its wildlife and heritage circuits, international longhaul leisure enquiries in 2025 have been softer than expected, revealed Arora.
To boost Madhya Pradesh’s international arrivals, the state government hosted the 39th annual convention of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) in 2024 and organised the Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart in October 2025 – both in the capital city of Bhopal. The latter attracted over 700 participants, including 100 international tour operators from 27 countries, who engaged in structured B2B meetings. A fam trip that followed brought overseas tour operators through Madhya Pradesh’s diverse tourism offerings and experiences.
Bhattacharya said: “The Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has been aggressively promoting the state in international markets with both B2C and B2B activities. Madhya Pradesh has also become popular for film shoots, which have helped to attract tourists.”
Indeed, Madhya Pradesh has been the location for popular Indian films, such as Stree, Laapataa Ladies, and Homebound. The latter was selected as the Indian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards, helping to spotlight the state’s diverse landscapes and cinematic appeal.
To further leverage the power of film tourism, Madhya Pradesh Film Tourism Policy 2025 was introduced with a validity of five years. Under this policy, a dedicated Film Facilitation Cell (FFC) has been constituted within the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board, serving as the nodal agency for all film-related matters in the state.
“The state government’s support and attractive incentives have encouraged filmmakers to consider Madhya Pradesh for their projects,” said Shukla.
Further, under its rural tourism initiative, the state government aims to develop 1,000 homestays across Madhya Pradesh. More than 300 such facilities are now operational.
As part of its textile tourism focus, the state has identified villages such as Bherugarh, Maheshwar and Unchehara to highlight traditional weaving practices and offer visitors meaningful interactions with skilled local artisans.
