This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
On June 16, 2025, the U.S. Department of State issued an alarming updated travel advisory for India, urging American citizens to "exercise increased caution" due to a sharp rise in terrorism, civil unrest and violent crime there.
Designated a Level 2 alert, the advisory specifically highlights violent crime and terrorism occurring in India and notes that rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in the country. And tourists are increasingly the target, especially in major cities and transit hubs, the advisory warning that terrorists attack with little or no warning, striking crowded areas such as tourist sites, transportation hubs, markets, shopping malls and government facilities.
The State Department has also placed strict warnings against travel to high-risk regions, including Jammu and Kashmir, the India-Pakistan border, central and eastern India where Maoist insurgents commonly operate, as well as the northeastern state of Manipur, which has seen a surge in ethnic violence.
A country too dangerous for Americans, but not for American investment
Despite growing security concerns flagged by the U.S. State Department, India continues to aggressively market itself as a premier global tourism and investment destination, actively promoting a broad range of investment opportunities across infrastructure, hospitality and real estate to overseas investors. During its May 2025 Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Annual Business Summit, India reaffirmed its strategic use of soft power, highlighting tourism as a key pillar of its global influence strategy.
Officials described tourism as an engine to boost economic growth, enhance India's international stature and generate domestic employment.
To support this vision, the Indian government has rolled out multi-billion-dollar programs aimed at overhauling its tourism infrastructure and amplifying foreign investor participation. Flagship schemes such as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 and PRASHAD focus on building religious and cultural tourism circuits, including Buddhist pilgrimage routes and Ramayana heritage trails. Meanwhile, the government's Heal in India initiative is positioning the country as a hub for affordable, high-quality medical treatment.
As Sameer Bhati, director of Star Imaging and Path Lab, notes, "Medical tourism in India can grow a lot because we offer quality healthcare at affordable prices. The Budget's focus on upgrading healthcare facilities will attract more patients."
State governments are reinforcing this national push. Uttar Pradesh and Kerala, for instance, are hosting international investor summits, implementing AI-powered hospitality platforms and targeting the Indian diaspora to channel capital into tourism-linked development. These efforts reflect a coordinated campaign to frame India as a one-stop destination for spiritual, medical and luxury travel. According to market research firm IMARC, India's medical tourism sector alone is expected to reach $68.5 billion by 2032, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 14.5% between 2024 and 2032.
Yet, beneath India's high-gloss tourism campaigns and billion-dollar investment showcases lies a far grittier and riskier reality.
For American citizens, the U.S. State Department's latest travel advisory should serve not only as a warning about personal safety, but also as a critical lens on the broader economic relationship being pushed by Indian interests. Despite New Delhi's messaging of openness and opportunity, the ground-level truth reveals a nation still plagued by terrorism, systemic violence, weak legal protections and state-enforced restrictions that directly affect foreign travelers.
For example: Tourists carrying a satellite phone or an unlicensed GPS device can face up to $200,000 in fines and three years in prison. Consular support from the U.S. is limited outside of major cities, meaning if one finds himself or herself in trouble in a rural area or conflict zone, help may not arrive. And while India positions itself as a global destination for women-centric travel, the advisory makes clear that women – especially foreigners – face an elevated risk of sexual assault and violent crime, particularly at tourist locations and transit hubs.
But the warning goes far beyond travel plans. India's global tourism ambitions are tightly woven into its larger economic strategy, one that aggressively seeks to draw in Western capital, real estate partnerships and infrastructure development, often under the premise of mutually beneficial growth. What many Americans don't realize is that this same "hospitality empire" is already deeply embedded in their own country. As of 2023, Indian Americans control an estimated 60% of all hotels in the United States, and in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, Indian hoteliers own a staggering 90% of hotels.
That level of market capture raises important questions about reciprocity, regulation and the national interest, especially as India restricts foreign ownership and enforces heavy localization policies at home.
Investing in instability: American hotel chains are flooding India, but who's really driving the expansion?
While the U.S. State Department warns Americans to "exercise increased caution" when traveling to India due to terrorism, violent crime, sexual violence and civil unrest, major U.S.-born hotel brands are aggressively expanding into that very same high-risk market. According to a March 2025 Forbes article, Marriott, Hilton, Wyndham and Hyatt are all racing to build out their footprint in India, with Marriott planning 80 new properties, Hilton launching four new brands and Wyndham aiming to double its presence. On paper, this expansion is framed as a play for India's rising middle class and modernizing infrastructure. But that narrative conceals a deeper reality.
These moves are not simply about seizing opportunity, they're the result of entrenched ownership and influence by Indian-origin investors who now dominate the U.S. hospitality sector. The Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), founded in 1989 and now the largest hotel-owners group in the world, represents over 20,000 Indian-American hoteliers who control the nearly 60% of all hotels in the United States and two-thirds of so-called economy and midscale properties. That level of control gives Indian-origin stakeholders extraordinary leverage, not just over domestic hospitality policy, but in shaping how and where U.S. hotel brands expand abroad.
In this context, the expansion into India isn't simply about growth; it's about influence. As Indian-American ownership steers corporate strategy, the line between American business interests and India's national agenda begins to fade. Incoming AAHOA Chairman Kamalesh "KP" Patel openly stated, "No sector reflects our bilateral ties better than hospitality." More than symbolism, this reflects a coordinated push to embed Indian interests into U.S. policy on investment, infrastructure, workforce mobility and visas on both sides of the globe.
That strategy is already playing out. In 2024, Indian hotel giant OYO acquired the iconic American brands Motel 6 and Studio 6 in a $525 million all-cash deal, one of the largest cross-border hospitality takeovers in U.S. history. This wasn't just a business move, it was a declaration: Indian firms are no longer content participating in Western markets, they're actively reshaping them. They're exporting capital, management models and political influence directly into the U.S. economy.
Travel warnings are for citizens, but not corporations or foreign governments
At the same time, India is building new airports, relaxing visa rules and promoting high-gloss campaigns to lure Western tourists and investors. But these efforts are not just market-driven – they're diaspora-driven. The alignment of Indian-origin ownership in U.S. brands, India's tourism ambitions and the policy frameworks being shaped behind the scenes has created a self-reinforcing system of transnational control disguised as bilateral cooperation.
For Americans, the implications are serious. While Indian hospitality interests grow stronger in this nation's economy, American hotel chains are embedding themselves in a foreign market flagged by the U.S. government as dangerous for travel. And yet, U.S. brands continue to promote India as a safe, promising destination, while exposing American citizens to physical, financial and reputational risk.
The U.S. travel advisory should be seen not as a bureaucratic footnote, but as a warning. Americans should think twice before vacationing in India, investing in its tourism sector or buying into the idea that this alignment is harmless. They should register for the State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), obtain evacuation-grade insurance and watch closely where their dollars and their country's interests are really going.
Because in this global hospitality "partnership," it's clear which side is winning. And it's not America.
An open door with no guardrails: How India's internal chaos is spilling into the United States
As U.S. hotel corporations aggressively expand into India, a nation flagged by the U.S. State Department, a far more concerning dynamic is unfolding at home. While American companies invest heavily in building out tourism infrastructure in India, the United States is simultaneously accepting a massive, poorly vetted influx of Indian nationals, both legally and illegally, with minimal safeguards for the American public.
According to the U.S. Embassy in India, over one million nonimmigrant visas were issued to Indian nationals in 2024 alone, the second year in a row that record numbers were reached. More than two million Indians traveled to the U.S. in the first eleven months of the year and over five million now hold active visas. Thousands more are approved daily.
So, while Americans are being told to exercise "increased caution" when visiting India, Indian citizens are entering the U.S. at historic levels, with little transparency, oversight or public debate. This isn't just a policy inconsistency; it's a direct threat to America's national security, economic stability and public safety.
India is also one of the top three sources of illegal immigration into the United States. In 2023 alone, nearly 90,000 Indian nationals were apprehended attempting to enter the country illegally. Many others arrive on temporary visas and simply overstay. At the same time, U.S. authorities have prosecuted numerous Indian nationals involved in elder fraud, multimillion-dollar financial scams, human trafficking rings and violent plots including a foiled assassination attempt in New York linked to an Indian government employee.
These are not isolated cases. They are part of a broader pattern emerging from a system that prioritizes volume and foreign interest over security and American sovereignty. As Indian-origin lobbying groups and economic networks grow more influential, particularly through their control of the U.S. hospitality sector, they are shaping not only investment decisions, but immigration and labor policy as well.
The result is a one-sided relationship: American companies are investing in a country that's too dangerous for their own citizens to visit, while India is offloading its population, labor force and political footprint into the U.S. under the banner of "partnership."
That is not mutual growth; it is a strategic imbalance.
Until U.S. policymakers address the growing disconnect between corporate interests and public safety, the consequences will continue to multiply. America is not just sending money into unstable territory, it is importing the instability itself, with real consequences for American workers, communities and national security.
The time to act is now. America must reassert control over its borders, its business interests and its future before more is lost in the name of globalization disguised as goodwill.
