In a major reshaping of Himachal Pradesh’s tourism landscape, Kangra Valley has dethroned Shimla as the state’s top destination for foreign tourists, signalling a gradual but significant shift in international travel preferences towards experiential and culture-driven destinations.
However, even as foreign tourist arrivals show signs of a steady post-pandemic recovery, the state government’s domestic tourist data has come under scrutiny, with tourism stakeholders and experts questioning the credibility of what they describe as “inflated” figures.
According to data released by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department, the state recorded 84,828 foreign tourist arrivals in 2025, a marginal rise from 82,765 in 2024 and 62,806 in 2023. Though the numbers indicate a gradual revival after the Covid pandemic, they remain far below the pre-pandemic peak of nearly four lakh foreign tourists recorded in 2019.
In a striking reversal of long-established trends, Kangra district emerged as the leading foreign tourist destination in 2025 by attracting 29,755 international visitors. Shimla, traditionally the state’s most preferred destination among overseas travellers, slipped to second place with 26,887 foreign arrivals, while Kullu stood a distant third with 10,587 international tourists.
The shift marks a notable departure from previous years. In 2024, Shimla had narrowly maintained its lead with 27,034 foreign visitors against 26,195 travellers to Kangra. In 2023 too, Shimla remained comfortably ahead, recording 20,889 foreign arrivals compared to Kangra’s 16,222.
Tourism stakeholders believe Kangra’s rise reflects changing global travel patterns, with international tourists increasingly preferring immersive cultural experiences, wellness tourism and adventure activities over conventional hill-station vacations.
The district’s growing international appeal is being driven largely by Dharamsala and McLeodganj, which continue to attract visitors interested in Tibetan culture, Buddhist spirituality and wellness retreats. Adventure tourism hubs such as Bir-Billing, globally known for paragliding, along with trekking circuits in the Dhauladhar ranges, have further strengthened Kangra’s position on the international tourism map.
Unlike Shimla’s colonial-era charm and urban hill-station character, Kangra offers a blend of spirituality, adventure and slow travel experiences that resonate strongly with modern global travellers.
Kangra District Tourism Development Officer Vinay Dhiman said foreign tourist inflow into the district was steadily improving, though it had not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.
“Foreign arrivals in Kangra are picking up gradually, but we are still far from the pre-Covid times when international tourist numbers were much higher,” Dhiman added.
He attributed the slower recovery partly to global geopolitical uncertainties and rising competition from Southeast Asian destinations.
“The ongoing conflict in West Asia has impacted international travel patterns globally. At the same time, several Southeast Asian countries have introduced aggressive tourism models, including visa-on-arrival facility and cheaper travel packages, which are diverting foreign tourists towards those destinations,” he added.
‘Inflated’ domestic figures
While foreign tourist data presents a relatively clear picture, the state’s domestic tourism figures have triggered widespread scepticism within the tourism industry. According to the Tourism Department, Himachal Pradesh has recorded a staggering tourist footfall of 3.10 crore in 2025 — a dramatic 72 per cent increase over the previous year’s figure of around 1.80 crore domestic tourists.
What has raised eyebrows is the department’s fresh segregation of visitors into two categories — “domestic tourists” and “religious tourists”.
As per the official data, 1.44 crore visitors have been classified as domestic tourists, while another 1.66 crore have been separately counted as religious tourists.
Earlier, pilgrims and temple visitors were included within the overall tourist footfall and were not shown as a distinct category.
The tourism stakeholders, however, argue that the new classification lacks scientific backing and risks duplication and inflated counting.
At present, the Tourism Department has no robust mechanism to determine whether a visitor has travelled exclusively for religious purposes or for leisure tourism. There is also no clear methodology to distinguish between pilgrims, local residents and repeat visitors, especially at major shrines that witness daily local footfall.
This creates a strong possibility that a single visitor may be counted multiple times under different categories.
The inconsistencies become even more apparent in shrine-wise data. According to official figures, the Chintpurni Temple alone attracted 74.23 lakh visitors in 2025, while the Baba Balak Nath Temple recorded 63.50 lakh devotees.
However, the stakeholders point out that there is no corresponding data available for the Naina Devi Temple in Bilaspur district, despite it traditionally being among the most visited religious destinations in the state after Chintpurni shrine.
Industry experts warn that unreliable tourism statistics can distort policy decisions and create a misleading picture of the actual growth of the state’s tourism economy.
“Without accurate and segregated data, it becomes impossible to understand how much growth is happening in the hospitality, hotel, transport and leisure sectors,” said a tourism stakeholder.
Experts also caution that inflated visitor numbers may create a false perception of tourism growth while masking the actual challenges facing the sector, including declining average tourist stay, limited spending by visitors and increasing pressure on infrastructure in select destinations.
