Tripura tourism registered overall growth in 2025-26, but the states international visitor map remained sharply uneven.
Key Takeaways:
- Tripura recorded a 3.15% rise in overall tourist arrivals in FY 2025-26, according to Tourism Minister Sushanta Chowdhury.
- West District accounted for 97.66% of the 19,170 foreign tourist visits recorded across Tripura.
- Unakoti, Sepahijala and Gomati together recorded only 319 foreign tourist visits, despite their major tourism attractions.
Tripura registered a 3.15 percent rise in tourist arrivals during the financial year 2025-26 compared with the previous year, Tourism Minister Sushanta Chowdhury informed the state Assembly on Thursday.
However, the district-wise foreign tourist data presented before the House reveals a striking imbalance. West District alone accounted for 18,722 foreign tourist visits during 2025-26, representing nearly 98 percent of the states total international tourist footfall, a written reply placed in the House read.
The figures show that while Tripura recorded growth in overall tourism, the benefits of international tourism remained overwhelmingly concentrated in one district.
Tourism arrivals rise 3.15 percent
According to the Tourism Minister, Tripura recorded 7,07,173 tourist arrivals in 2024-25.
Of these, 6,27,705 were domestic tourists, while 79,468 were international tourists.
The minister said overall tourist arrivals increased by 3.15 percent in 2025-26 compared with the previous financial year.
The growth indicates a positive trend in tourist movement into the state. Yet the district-wise foreign tourist figures reveal a very different picture from the broader growth narrative.
International visitors remain concentrated to an extraordinary degree in West District.
West accounts for nearly 98 percent of foreign footfall
Tripura recorded 19,170 foreign tourist visits during 2025-26, based on the district-wise monthly data placed before the Assembly.
West District accounted for 18,722 of those visits.
That works out to 97.66 percent of the states total foreign tourist footfall.
The remaining seven districts together recorded only around 452 foreign tourist visits, or 2.34 percent.
| Rank | District | Foreign tourist visits, 2025-26 | Share of state total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West | 18,722 | 97.66% |
| 2 | Unakoti | 127 | 0.66% |
| 3 | Sepahijala | 121 | 0.63% |
| 4 | Gomati | 71 | 0.37% |
| 5 | North | 56 | 0.29% |
| 6 | South | 48 | 0.25% |
| 7 | Dhalai | 23 | 0.12% |
| 8 | Khowai | 2 | 0.01% |
| Total | Tripura | 19,170 | 100% |
The scale of the concentration is exceptional.
West District recorded about 42 times more foreign tourist visits than the other seven districts combined.
Unakoti ranks second but records only 127 foreign visits
The figures for Unakoti are particularly striking.
The district ranked second statewide with 127 foreign tourist visits during the entire 2025-26 financial year.
Monthly arrivals were mostly in single digits or the low teens. Unakoti recorded three foreign visitors in April 2025 and 17 in May. It then recorded three in June and one in July.
The numbers improved towards the end of the financial year. The district recorded 21 foreign visitors in February 2026 and 39 in March.
Despite that late increase, the annual total remained only 127.
The figure is notable because Unakoti is one of Tripura most prominent heritage tourism destinations. The district is internationally known for its ancient rock-cut sculptures and archaeological heritage.
Yet the district-wise data indicates that international tourist movement remains extremely limited.
It is important to note that the figures supplied to the Assembly are district-level data. They do not indicate how many foreign tourists visited the specific Unakoti archaeological site.
Gomati foreign footfall remains exceptionally low
Gomati District ranked fourth with only 71 foreign tourist visits during 2025-26.
Foreign arrivals remained in single digits for most months.
Gomati recorded four foreign visitors in April, two in May, six in June, two in July and two in August.
The district began recording somewhat higher numbers towards the end of the year. Foreign tourist visits reached 10 in January, 12 in February and 14 in March.
Gomati has several important religious, cultural and heritage attractions. However, the district-level figures show that its international tourist footfall remained extremely low.
Again, the data does not provide attraction-specific numbers. Therefore, it would be inaccurate to attribute the 71 visits directly to individual tourist spots in the district.
Three major tourism districts attract just 319 foreign visits
The combined numbers for Unakoti, Sepahijala and Gomati provide perhaps the clearest indication of the imbalance.
Together, the three districts recorded only 319 foreign tourist visits in 2025-26.
Their combined share was just 1.66 percent of Tripura total foreign tourist footfall.
West District, in contrast, recorded 18,722 foreign visits on its own.
The difference means that three districts with significant tourism assets collectively attracted fewer than two out of every 100 foreign tourist visits recorded across the state.
West dominance continued throughout the year
The concentration was not caused by a single exceptional month.
West District led the foreign tourist count throughout the financial year. The trend continues.
Tourism growth does not mean balanced international tourism
The 3.15 percent rise in overall tourist arrivals is positive for the states tourism sector.
However, the district-wise foreign tourist data shows that international tourism remains highly centralised.
The contrast between the overall growth figure and the geographical distribution of foreign visitors is significant.
Tripura is attracting tourists, but foreign visitors are not being distributed evenly across its tourism destinations.
West District appears to be the principal centre of international tourist movement. Agartala, as the state capital, has a concentration of hotels, transport facilities, travel services and other visitor infrastructure that may contribute to this pattern.
The Assembly data itself, however, does not establish the reasons behind the concentration.
International tourism outside West remains a major challenge: Enewstime Desk Perspective
The figures point to a major policy challenge for Tripura.
Unakoti, Sepahijala and Gomati have distinct tourism identities. They offer heritage, religious, cultural, nature and wildlife attractions.
Yet together they attracted only 319 foreign tourist visits during the entire financial year.
Unakoti ranked second among all districts, but its annual foreign footfall was only 127. Sepahijala followed with 121. Gomati recorded 71.
The numbers suggest considerable scope for expanding international tourism circuits beyond West District.
Improved connectivity, stronger international destination marketing, better tourist facilities and multi-destination travel packages could potentially help increase foreign visitor movement to other parts of the state.
The challenge is therefore not merely to increase the total number of tourists. It is also to spread international tourist traffic across Tripura.
