China–India Resume E-Visas, Boosting Tourism Hopes

India has officially restarted issuing tourist e-visas for Chinese citizens after a five-year suspension, in a move that could drive the recovery of Indian tourism. This was stated by the Indian Embassy in Beijing on July 24, 2025, and is being seen as an opportunity for travel agencies, heritage sites and spiritual hubs to recover from the slump experienced due to drastic fall in Chinese tourists after the pandemic and border frictions in 2020. Chinese tourism has not featured significantly on India’s tourism records for years and the revival is expected to provide new impetus to the sector and create the facilitative conditions for an even-stronger relationship between the two countries. India has officially resumed issuing tourist e-visas to Chinese nationals after a five-year hiatus, marking a significant moment in the country’s tourism recovery. The Indian Embassy in Beijing announced the reopening of the visa system on July 24, 2025, bringing much-needed optimism to the tourism industry. This move is seen as a boost for travel agencies, heritage sites, spiritual hubs, and the broader Indian tourism ecosystem. It signals the revival of cultural exchanges and the return of Chinese tourists, who have been largely absent since the pandemic and the ongoing border tensions in 2020. The suspension of Chinese tourist visas in 2020 was a response to both the global pandemic and escalating geopolitical tensions along India’s borders with China. While many other nationalities saw their travel restrictions gradually lifted, Chinese travellers remained excluded. This decision led to a significant drop in the number of Chinese visitors to India, with arrivals plummeting from 3.4 lakh in 2019 to just over 30,000 in 2023.