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In this archive story we are learning about Tourism in India at the Agra Fort.
Read the background story of this archive photo by the photographer. |
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Tourism in India is vividly illustrated in this scene where a street vendor attempts to sell bangles to a tourist outside the iconic Red Fort in Agra. The image captures both the energy of local entrepreneurship and the intensity many travelers experience when visiting India's most popular landmarks. It highlights the human dimension of tourism, where economic survival and cultural exchange unfold in everyday interactions.
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Tourism in India
India is one of the world's most fascinating countries to travel in – a vibrant land of contrasts where ancient traditions meet the demands of the modern world. For decades, the country has attracted millions of tourists seeking its palaces, temples, street markets, food culture and spiritual energy. But tourism in India is more than sightseeing. It is an economic lifeline for millions – from five-star hotel owners to street vendors outside monuments like the Red Fort in Agra.
How many tourists visit India each year?
In recent years, India has welcomed an average of around 10 million international visitors annually, with numbers steadily increasing again after the COVID-19 pandemic. Domestic tourism, however, remains the dominant force, with hundreds of millions of Indians travelling within their own country each year – making tourism a vital part of both local and national economies.
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Tourism impacts India's economy
In this article, we explore how tourism impacts India's economy, especially at the grassroots level. We reflect on how the presence of tourists creates complex interactions in public spaces – full of energy, tension and mutual dependence.
Tourism as a pillar of India's economy
Tourism contributes significantly to India's economy. According to the Ministry of Tourism, the industry accounted for nearly 5 percent of India's 'GDP' before the pandemic, employing tens of millions directly and indirectly. India's cultural and natural wealth – from Rajasthan's deserts to Kerala's backwaters – attracts both domestic and international visitors. The country earns billions of dollars in foreign exchange each year through tourism-related activities. Large hospitality groups, airlines, tour operators and government institutions are among the primary beneficiaries. Yet behind this macroeconomic success lies a vast, informal network of people who depend on tourists in more fragile, personal ways.
"The Indian government's Incredible India campaign has played a major role in promoting cultural tourism and increasing global visibility and India earned approximately US$ 30 billion from foreign tourist spending in 2019"
On the streets – the informal economy around tourism
Tourism's economic impact is perhaps most visible – and most human – on the street level. Outside every major tourist attraction, from the Taj Mahal to the 'Ghats' of Varanasi, you will find a dense concentration of hawkers, street vendors, guides, rickshaw drivers and children selling postcards or souvenirs. These people are not part of the official tourism economy. They do not have contracts, offices or safety nets. Yet they are vital actors in the real, day-to-day experience of tourism in India.
Their income is unpredictable and often dependent on the mood and movement of the tourist crowd. Some days are profitable – others pass without a single sale. It is within this landscape that survival, dignity and hustle all coexist.
Scene at the Red Fort – a human exchange
In one of my photographs, taken outside the Red Fort in Agra, a man is seen holding out a handful of colorful bangles to a female tourist. His gesture is insistent but not aggressive – a blend of hope and necessity. The tourist, dressed in a vibrant pink 'Kurta', appears both attentive and cautious. Around them, dozens of people move, creating a blur of bodies and decisions. This moment, frozen in time, captures the delicate tension between the vendor's need to sell and the tourist's need for space. It is a tension seen across India, repeated thousands of times a day in different forms – a postcard offered, a ride proposed, a henna design suggested.
"As a photographer, I'm constantly aware of the invisible currents between people. In India, the energy between tourists and locals – especially vendors – is electric. Sometimes there's connection, sometimes discomfort. I try to capture both. You begin to realize that for many of these street vendors, every tourist who walks by is an opportunity"
The energy and pressure of street-level tourism
There is a certain intensity in how street vendors approach tourists in India. For many visitors, it can feel overwhelming – even stressful. Being constantly approached, offered, urged and followed creates a sense of pressure that some tourists struggle with. But from the vendor's point of view, this intensity is not rudeness – it is strategy and often, desperation. In a country where millions live below the poverty line and where tourist-heavy locations offer rare opportunities for quick income, there is little room for subtlety. Every tourist represents a chance – perhaps the only sale of the day. To understand tourism in India is to understand this friction – the meeting point between economic necessity and cultural collision.
Tourists' mixed reactions
Some tourists respond with curiosity and compassion. They talk, bargain gently or buy small souvenirs even if they do not need them – understanding that the exchange is as much about dignity as it is about the item. Others respond with avoidance. The constant attention can be mentally exhausting. Tourists often resort to ignoring, shielding their eyes with sunglasses or walking fast through crowds. The psychological need for peace and control can be strong, especially for first-time visitors. Both reactions are valid – and both are part of the ecosystem.
India as a living organism
India's streets are more than just busy – they are alive. In a country of over 1.4 billion people, economic survival is a daily effort. The nation functions like a giant organism where every individual is trying to find their own pulse within the collective rhythm. Tourism becomes part of that rhythm. For every traveler taking a photo, there is someone nearby trying to sell a bottle of water, a hand fan or a piece of jewelry. These acts are not just commerce – they are about survival, identity and human connection.
"As a photographer, I've witnessed countless small moments – a rickshaw driver giving a free ride to a lost traveler, a child insisting on selling a single pen, a guide telling the same story for the 100th time with pride in his voice. These moments define tourism in India far more than any statistic"
Post-Pandemic recovery and challenges
The COVID-19 pandemic hit India's tourism sector hard. Lockdowns, travel bans and a drop in foreign arrivals left many without income for months or years. While large hotel chains survived, street-level tourism workers had no safety net. Many shifted to other informal jobs, while others waited, hoping for travelers to return. As tourism picks up again, the system is slowly healing. Yet the pandemic revealed how fragile the informal economy truly is – and how deeply dependent millions are on a functioning tourism flow.
Sustainable and responsible tourism in India
The future of tourism in India cannot be about volume alone. With increasing environmental pressures and growing awareness about exploitation, more travelers and organizations are pushing for sustainable tourism practices.
This includes:
• Supporting local businesses over international chains
• Choosing eco-friendly accommodations
• Respecting cultural norms and boundaries
• Engaging in slow travel – staying longer, going deeper
• Learning about the social impact of one's presence
Tourists who understand their role as participants in a larger economy can help steer India's tourism industry in a more equitable direction.
Tourism as shared survival
Tourism in India is not simply a matter of sightseeing. It is a mutual exchange, deeply embedded in the lives of those who depend on the presence of travelers to earn a living. Street vendors, rickshaw drivers and informal workers around monuments like the Red Fort are not intrusions in the travel experience – they are part of the experience. Their presence is a reminder that travel is never neutral. Every step we take as tourists creates ripples – economic, emotional and human.
Understanding this gives tourism new depth. It becomes not only about seeing, but also about seeing others and recognizing that every encounter, however small or fleeting, is part of a vast, living system – the organism that is India.
"You begin to realize that for many of these street vendors, every tourist who walks by is an opportunity – or a rejection. They are selling more than just souvenirs. They're selling effort, time and often their pride or a rejection. They are selling more than just souvenirs. They're selling effort, time and often their pride"
See this video about tourism at the Agra Fort in India made by WildFilmsIndia.
Photographing street-level tourism
"- India functions like an open-air economy and tourism pulses through it like blood. Everyone finds a way to contribute – or survive. Whether you're a tour guide or a boy selling postcards, you're part of something much larger than yourself. Photographing street-level tourism isn't just about composition. It's about asking: What's really happening here? Who gains? Who struggles? What story does this image tell – and what story might it be leaving out?", the Photographer says.
"- I captured this moment outside the Red Fort in Agra. What struck me wasn't just the vendor's persistence – it was his quiet desperation. The street vendor attempts to sell bangles to a tourist outside the Red Fort in Agra. This scene reflects both the energy of local entrepreneurship and the pressure felt by many travelers in India's most visited sites. He wasn't shouting, he wasn't aggressive. He simply extended his arm with a handful of bangles, hoping the tourist might stop, even just for a second", the Photographer says again.
"- There's a strange duality in moments like these – on one side, a tourist trying to avoid confrontation – on the other, someone trying to survive. These are not hostile encounters. They're human negotiations played out in public spaces", the Photographer says again.
Read also: Agra Fort in India
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India is a land full of stories. On every street, on every corner and in the many places in India, life is rushing by you as a photographer with millions of stories to be told. In the archive story above, you hopefully had a readable insight in the story that was behind the photo of tourism in Agra. On this website of Kristian Bertel | Photography you can find numerous travel pictures from the photographer. Stories and moments that tell the travel stories of how the photographer captured the specific scene that you see in the picture. The photographer's images have a story behind them, images that all are taken from around India throughout his photo journeys. The archive stories delve into Kristian's personal archive to reveal never-before-seen, including portraits and landscapes beautifully produced snapshots from various travel assignments. The archive is so-far organized into photo stories, this one included, each brought to life by narrative text and full-color photos. Together, these fascinating stories tell a story about the life in India. India, the motherland to many people around the world, a land of unforgetable travel moments. The archive takes viewers on a spectacular visual journey through some of the most stunning photographs to be found in the photographer's archive collection. The photographer culled the images to reflect the many variations on the universal theme of beauty and everyday life in India. By adding these back stories the photographer's work might immensely enhanced the understanding of the photographs.
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