Marriott Heading for 100 Cities in India, but Country ‘Has to Tell Its Story Better’

India doesn't have an overtourism problem, Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano argues — it has an awareness problem. Roughly 70% of Marriott's demand in India is domestic today. Most international travelers, in his view, only know two or three Indian cities, missing the "extraordinary richness" everywhere else. "You'd be hard-pressed to find another country in the world that has the richness of destinations, the richness of history, the richness of culture, the richness of cuisine, and in some ways, some of it is a well-kept secret," he said at the World Leaders Forum in India last week. He said the way to go about educating the traveling public is through public private partnership. “India has to tell its story better,” he said. Foreign tourist arrivals fell 9.4% in 2025 to roughly 9 million, leaving India below its pre-pandemic level and accounting for just 1.4% of global arrivals. India has slashed overseas tourism marketing spending by mor