Nearly 30,000 Pakistanis visited India in 2023, a four-year high and a 70 percent increase from 2022. Their average term of stay (76 days) was over thrice the average of people of all nationalities visiting India (22 days), according to data from the tourism ministry.
After Pakistanis, people from Yemen stayed the longest, averaging 67 days, followed by Nigerians, who stayed for 50 days.
As India cancels all short-term and medical visas from Pakistan, arrivals from the neighbouring country are expected to drop again, like they did following the 2001 parliament attack, 2008 Mumbai terror strikes, and the 2016 Uri incident.
Arrivals from Pakistan have in any case dropped since 2016, when over a lakh crossed the border with a visa.
The number of travellers from the country peaked in 2015 when 1,24,924 people came to India.
While an average of 72,000 people came from Pakistan between 2001 and 2016, arrivals from the country have averaged 27,000 since 2017.
People coming from Pakistan were down 93 percent in 2001 compared with the previous year, 38 percent in 2009, and 58 percent in 2016.
The profile of persons visiting from the neighbouring country has also changed.
More children, less business
While a tenth of visitors from Pakistan in 2016 had visited India for business and professional reasons, they comprised just 1.8 percent of the visitors in 2023.
On the other hand, the number of leisure travellers more than doubled to 30 percent in 2023 from 12 percent in 2016.
Medical tourism has also dipped, as have trips by Indian passport-holders with a long-term visa, residing in Pakistan.
In 2016, trips by the Indian diaspora comprised 1.7 percent of the visits, and had reduced to 0.4 percent in 2023.
The proportion of children aged 0-14 visiting India has increased over the last decade.
Of the total visitors in 2023, 21 percent were aged between 0-14, 22 percent between 35-44, and 17.5 percent belonged to the 25-34 age group.
In 2016, just 8.5 percent of the visitors were children, while 30 percent belonged to the 25-34 bracket.
Departures from India have also reduced. In 2023, 17,405 people went from India to Pakistan. Nearly half were in the 55+ age group, and a third had gone for pilgrimage.
Indians stayed longer around the world — 69 days — than in Pakistan (28 days).
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