Chennai vs Kanpur

Chennai leads Kanpur by 5 points on the CIRA Index, 55 to 50. Chennai grades better on 4 measures, Kanpur on 3; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: Chennai 55, Kanpur 50
• OECD: Chennai 54, Kanpur 53
• UN Tourism: Chennai 58, Kanpur 53
• UNDRR: Chennai 41, Kanpur 41

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Chennai 71, Kanpur 83
• Economy and jobs: Chennai 63, Kanpur 75
• Climate and hazards: Chennai 20, Kanpur 15
• Water and environment: Chennai 50, Kanpur 38
• Community and housing: Chennai 75, Kanpur –
• Access and continuity: Chennai 55, Kanpur 50

Where Chennai is stronger

• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 69.1 % average annual occupancy (Horwath HTL, India Hotel Market Review 2023, 2023). Between 65 and 75: grade 3/4.
• Flood hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4.
• Wastewater safely treated: 88.2 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (metro figure) (DT Next / Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB), 2024). Between 85 and 95: grade 3/4.
• Access redundancy: 4 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Chennai Port Authority / Southern Railway / AAI / NHAI, 2024–2026). At or above 4: grade 4/4.

Where Kanpur is stronger

• Recovery against 2019: 121.1 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (region figure) (CEIC Data / Ministry of Tourism, Government of India & Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department, 2024). At or above 110: grade 4/4.
• Economic diversity: 81.3 % of employment outside accommodation, food, retail and transport (region figure) (Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Annual Report, Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2025, 2024). At or above 80: grade 4/4.
• Air traffic recovery: 140.7 % of the same 12 months of 2019, airport passengers (DGCA traffic statistics (via india-aviation-traffic, ODbL), TTM Jul 2025 – Jun 2026). At or above 110: grade 4/4.

Country context (World Economic Forum)

• India: #31 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
• India: #31 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Chennai in full · Kanpur in full

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