January 15, 2018
India’s Ministry of Tourism reported on January 15th that the number of foreign tourist arrivals in December 2017 was 1.2 million as compared with entry of 1 million in December 2016
The top 10 countries of origin for foreign tourist arrivals during December 2017 was Bangladesh, the USA, the UK, Australia, Canada, Russia, Malaysia, Germany, China and Sri Lanka
India’s Tourism Minister Alphons Kannanthanam has said that the economy earned around US$27 billion from Foreign Tourist Arrivals in the year 2017
During December 2017, a total of 241,000 foreign tourists arrived on e-tourist visa as compared with 162,000 lakh a year earlier. Over the year, e-tourist visa issuance increased by 57%
Foreign tourist arrivals into India recorded a year-on-year growth of 15 per cent in December 2017. The country’s Ministry of Tourism reported on January 15th that the number of foreign tourist arrivals in December 2017 was 1.2 million as compared with entry of 1 million in December 2016. The country had recorded foreign tourist arrivals of 913,000 in December 2015. Meanwhile, over the year 2017, foreign tourist arrivals was recorded at 10.2 million, or an increase of 15.6% from the previous year. The steady increase in foreign tourist entry indicates towards India’s improving stand across a variety of fields, including leisure tourism, medicine, education, trade and investment.
The percentage share of foreign tourist arrivals during December 2017 among the top source countries was highest from Bangladesh (19.04%) followed by the USA (16.90%), the UK (10.41%), Australia (5.31%) and Canada (3.85%). The other leading source were Russia (3.79%), Malaysia (3.11%), Germany (2.08%), China (2.06%), Sri Lanka (2.01%), Singapore (1.85%), France (1.81%), Japan (1.64%), Thailand (1.60%) and Italy (1.44%). India’s ties with these strategic partner nations have steadily increased over the years. Meanwhile, the busiest points of entries for these arrivals were Delhi Airport, Mumbai Airport, Haridaspur Land Check Post on Bangladesh border, Chennai Airport and Bengaluru Airport.
One of the key factors encouraging the steady rise in foreign tourist arrivals has been the Government of India’s initiatives to simplify the application of e-tourist visas. During December 2017, a total of 241,000 foreign tourists arrived on e-tourist visa as compared with 162,000 lakh a year earlier. In the year 2017, a total of 1.7 million foreign tourists arrived in India on e-tourist visa as compared with 1 million in 2016. India is currently the seventh largest stakeholder in the global tourism industry. Through the “Incredible India” campaign and other policy measures, the Government is trying boost foreign tourist arrivals into India, which generated US$27 billion in income during calendar year 2017.