New Delhi, Oct. 15 -- India is investing heavily in tourism, but it may be underpricing the biggest risk to those investments. A hotel can be built in a year, but a tourism asset can last for decades. If the climate, water supply or physical access to a destination deteriorates during that period, today's profitable project can become tomorrow's expensive liability.

The stakes are huge. India recorded almost 4.3 billion domestic tourist visits in 2025, while tourism's estimated direct and indirect contribution to GDP was about Rs.15.7 trillion, supporting 84.6 million jobs, according to the tourism ministry. That makes climate risk a tourism-business problem, not just an environmental one.

India's mountains, beaches and pilgrimage centr...