The presence of the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission as chief guests at India’s 2026 Republic Day parade signals more than diplomatic warmth. It reflects a recalibration of India-Europe engagement around mobility, services, and people-to-people exchange. Tourism, often dismissed as a soft sector, sits at the centre of this shift.

In advanced economies, it functions as a strategic services industry linking culture, healthcare, mobility, and regional development. Europe’s experience suggests that tourism succeeds less because of destinations than because of institutional coordination—making this diplomatic moment a prompt for India to rethink tourism as an economic pillar.

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