Kashi sees 77% rise in desi, 34% in foreign visitors

VARANASI: Kashi has emerged as one of the top destinations for Indian tourists with a dramatic rise of 77% domestic tourists in the first quarter of 2025, as compared to the same time last year. Foreign tourists to the temple town also registered a sharp increase of 34%.
According to data from the tourism department, the number of Indian tourists to Varanasi soared by 77.59% in the first quarter of 2025 (January to March) compared to the same period in 2024. Foreign tourist arrivals also saw a significant rise of 34.21% during this time.
According to tourism department deputy director Rajendra Rawat, Kashi welcomed 2.56 crore visitors from January to March in 2024. This number shot up to 11.46 crore in the first three months of 2025.
Number of foreign tourists up from over 98k in 2024 to 1.5L in 2025
Foreign tourist numbers also went up from 98,961 in 2024 to 1.5 lakh in 2025 — an increase of over 50% in just three months.
This was an increase of nearly 8.89 crore domestic tourists within a year.
Notably, the city’s spiritual aura, combined with the visible development — from revamped ghats and better roads to improved sanitation and modern amenities — has made Kashi a must-visit destination.