Kaziranga National Park recorded its highest-ever tourist footfall of 4,58,618 visitors during the 2025-26 season, marking an 8.5% rise over the previous year, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Tuesday, 6 October 2026. The milestone cements the UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of India's fastest-growing wildlife tourism destinations.

Record Footfall by the Numbers

The 4,58,618 visitors logged in 2025-26 represent the highest single-season count in Kaziranga's recorded tourism history, according to figures shared by Chief Minister Sarma. The 8.5% year-on-year jump is particularly notable given that the park's numbers had already been climbing steadily over the preceding seasons. The data signals a sustained, not merely seasonal, upswing in traveller interest.

PM Modi Visit Cited as a Catalyst

Chief Minister Sarma specifically credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent overnight stay at Kaziranga as a factor in amplifying public interest. 'Kaziranga's appeal keeps growing!' Sarma wrote in his social media post, linking the PM's highly publicised visit to the surge in visitor numbers. While the precise causal contribution of the visit is difficult to quantify, it generated significant national media attention that reportedly translated into fresh booking inquiries and walk-in traffic.

Why Kaziranga Draws the Crowds

The park, straddling the Brahmaputra floodplains in Assam, is home to the world's largest population of the one-horned rhinoceros. It also shelters tigers, elephants, wild buffaloes and hundreds of bird species, making it a rare multi-species spectacle. Recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kaziranga routinely ranks among India's top five wildlife reserves for international visitor interest. This is not an isolated record — footfall has broadly trended upward since the park expanded its safari zones and improved road connectivity in recent years.

Impact on Local Economy and Eco-Tourism Push

The record numbers carry direct economic weight for communities surrounding the park. Hotels, homestays, transport operators, guides, safari services and handicraft sellers across the Kaziranga belt are among the primary beneficiaries. The Assam government has in recent years systematically promoted the state's national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, cultural sites and natural landscapes as pillars of a broader eco-tourism economy. Kaziranga remains the centrepiece of that strategy, acting as an anchor that draws visitors who also explore other parts of Assam.

What Comes Next

With the 2026-27 tourist season approaching — the park typically opens to visitors between November and April after the monsoon — the state administration is expected to build on this momentum with additional infrastructure and conservation investments. Sustaining the growth without overwhelming the park's ecological carrying capacity will be the key challenge as Kaziranga's popularity continues to rise.