WTTC President’s Vision for India: “You Have Everything. What You Need Is a Joint Plan”

New Delhi, July 16, 2026: In a compelling keynote address at the FAITH Conclave 2026, WTTC President & CEO Gloria Guevara delivered a candid assessment of India’s tourism potential, urging the nation to move from promise to performance through coordinated action.

“You have the culture, diversity, gastronomy and hospitality. You have everything,” Guevara declared during her opening presentation, “but what you need is a joint plan between the government and the private sector.”

Backed by WTTC’s 2026 Economic Impact Research, Guevara presented a transformative forecast: India is projected to rise from the 10th largest Travel & Tourism economy in 2025 ($263.6 billion) to become the 4th largest by 2036, with a total contribution of $527 billion. The sector grew at 7.3% in 2025, almost near India’s overall economy, and is forecast to grow at 8.5% this year, contributing $286.
1 billion and supporting 48.1 million jobs.

However, Guevara struck a note of urgency, highlighting India’s modest share of global international visitor spending at just 1.6%. “The opportunity for India is to capture a fair share of international spend. It’s not capturing this enough,” she told a media roundtable.

Drawing comparisons, she noted that India’s visa-free access extends to only three countries, compared to China’s 70 and Thailand’s 90. The e-visa system, she added, remains mainly air-and sea-oriented.

Guevara stressed that geopolitical tensions have disrupted international airline capacity, with the Middle East once providing “one in every seven international airline seats.” India must expand its own connectivity, she insisted, adding that “a country of this size doesn’t have enough connectivity.”

Reiterating the sector’s employment potential, Guevara shared that India could create 50 million new tourism jobs by 2036—one-sixth of all new jobs globally.

“We see the countries that are growing faster. They have visa waivers for around 70 countries. India has only three. You need to make it easier for people to come here,” Guevara concluded, setting an ambitious agenda for the conclave’s deliberations.