India extends free visas for Thais through 2027 as pilgrimage travel rebounds

India’s extension of free 30-day, double-entry e-Tourist visas for Thai nationals until December 2027 provides tour operators, DMCs and inns an extended window to construct enterprise from a Southeast Asian market the place Buddhist pilgrimage stays the strongest draw.

India has prolonged its visa-fee waiver for Thai tourists until December 31, 2027, giving the inbound travel commerce better certainty to develop a market that despatched greater than 140,000 guests to the nation in 2024. Under the measure introduced by the Embassy of India in Bangkok, Thai passport holders can receive a 30-day, double-entry e-Tourist visa with out paying the visa charge. Travellers should nonetheless apply for the visa earlier than departure.

For India’s inbound operators, the longer coverage window permits DMCs and wholesalers to contract programmes additional forward, whereas inns throughout the Buddhist pilgrimage belt have a chance to lock in group enterprise from one among Southeast Asia’s established spiritual travel markets.

The walkway in entrance of The Great Buddha Statue in Bodh Gaya.

Thai arrivals climb again in direction of pre-pandemic ranges

Thailand ranked amongst India’s prime 15 supply markets in 2024. Ministry of Tourism figures published by the Press Information Bureau present that India obtained 140,489 guests from Thailand in 2024, up from 116,060 in 2023 and 54,367 in 2022. The restoration is substantial, though the market has but to regain its pre-pandemic scale. India recorded 169,956 arrivals from Thailand in 2019. An extra 57,056 Thai guests arrived between January and April 2025, in response to authorities knowledge.

Air entry has additionally broadened, with Indian and Thai carriers connecting the 2 international locations throughout a number of metropolis pairs. That provides operators extra flexibility to bundle shorter pilgrimage journeys as effectively as programmes combining spiritual websites with mainstream leisure locations.

Bodh Gaya, West Bengal, India,  The devotees and pilgrims of Lord Buddha are busy in prayer within the afternoon.

Buddhist Circuit stays the core product

For the Thai market, India’s Buddhist heritage stays the plain start line. Bodh Gaya, the place Buddha attained enlightenment, anchors most pilgrimage programmes. Sarnath, the place he delivered his first sermon, and Kushinagar, related together with his Mahaparinirvana, are pure additions. Rajgir, Nalanda, Vaishali and Shravasti enable specialist operators to construct longer circuits slightly than promote Bodh Gaya as a stand-alone vacation spot.

The business alternative is more and more about what may be added round that journey. Varanasi is effectively positioned to seize additional nights from teams travelling to close by Sarnath. Delhi and Agra can lengthen a pilgrimage itinerary right into a broader first-time India programme, whereas Rajgir and Nalanda give Bihar operators scope to maintain travellers throughout the state for longer.

Infrastructure has step by step caught up with that ambition. Improved air, rail and highway connectivity serving Kushinagar, Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Nalanda, Vaishali, Sarnath and Shravasti. Kushinagar International Airport was developed partly to enhance entry to the Buddhist Circuit. The double-entry provision is especially helpful for India-Nepal programmes. Pilgrimage teams can embrace Lumbini, Buddha’s birthplace in Nepal, earlier than returning to India, giving DMCs better flexibility in designing regional Buddhist circuits.

Parinirvana temple, Kushinagar, India. It is necessary Buddhist pilgrimage web site, the place Buddhists consider Gautama Buddha attained Parinirvana after his loss of life

Hotels can seize extra of the pilgrimage spend

For inns in Bodh Gaya, Varanasi, Kushinagar and different pilgrimage centres, the chance goes past room nights. Thai-speaking help, vegetarian and acquainted Asian meals decisions, early breakfasts, versatile meal schedules and preparations for monks and non secular teams can affect buying selections. Hotels that work carefully with Thai wholesalers and Indian floor handlers on these necessities are higher positioned to compete for repeat collection enterprise.

There can be scope to widen the itinerary. Wellness, yoga, heritage, purchasing and culinary experiences may be constructed round pilgrimage programmes, notably for repeat guests and accompanying members of the family.

Buddhist pilgrimage are an necessary part of Thai travel to India, reflecting cultural and non secular hyperlinks which have lengthy supported tourism between the 2 international locations. For the commerce, the runway now extends through 2027. Buddhist Circuit operators have a chance to bundle extra full journeys, inns can tailor their group proposition to Thai travellers, and DMCs can use pilgrimage as the anchor for longer itineraries that add locations, room nights and spend.

Parinirvana temple, Kushinagar, India. It is necessary Buddhist pilgrimage web site, the place Buddhists consider Gautama Buddha attained Parinirvana after his loss of life