India, Nov. 29 -- West Bengal has slowly moved up the charts and is now ranked the second most visited destination for international tourists in India, just behind Maharashtra, according to data released by the India Tourism Data Compendium 2025.

The state welcomed 31 lakh international travellers in 2024, a jump from 27 lakh in 2023, according to the data quoted by media reports.

The third in the list is Uttar Pradesh, followed by Gujarat and Rajasthan.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee credited the initiatives taken by her government post-COVID-19 to create and promote new verticals of tourism as the reason behind the resurgence.

"Proud to share that West Bengal has emerged as one of the most favoured international tourist ...