Revision as of 07:02, 8 February 2016

In 2014, Delhi, Mumbai, Agra and Jaipur had the highest percentage growth (over 2013) among the 100 cities surveyed; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, January 30, 2016

1997-2014: Foreign tourist arrivals and foreign exchange earnings, India

India and the world: Increase in tourst arrivals between 1995 and 2013, and India’s global rank; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, October 2, 2015

1997-2014

Tourism, India: 2010; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, July 21, 2011

The Times of India Jan 16 2015

There has been a steady increase in the arrival of foreign tourists in India. In 2013, India was visited by 7 million foreigners, roughly three times the number in 1997. Over this period, foreign exchange earnings from tourism increased by more than six times. What the data shows is that in 1997, the average earning for India per foreign tourist was a little over Rs 44,000, which went up to Rs 1.5 lakh in 2013. Between January and June 2014, the latest period for which data is available, the figure was a tad higher still at about Rs 1.6 lakh per tourist.Studies suggest this might be linked to the relatively long periods for which foreigners stay in India.

Foreign tourists spend more per-capita and stay longer

India draws tourists with deep pockets

Ranks 41st in number of tourists received but 1st in per-capita spend by them

Ruchika Chitravanshi | New Delhi

business-standard February 17, 2014

India is not on top in numbers of foreign tourist arrivals but the average amount of money spent by international travellers here, on a per-capita basis, is more than anywhere else. Also, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) data, though the country is ranked 41st in terms of inbound tourist arrivals, it is 16th in total tourism receipts.

Major tourist destinations like the US, China, the United Kingdom and France see far higher annual foreign tourist arrivals, but their per-capita receipts from inbound foreign travellers is much lower than India. According to experts, this is mainly because of a large number of business visitors to India and longer duration of their stay.

Data from the tourism ministry and UNWTO show international tourists' per-capita spend in India as at the end of 2012 stood at over $2,600, while it was $1,900 in the US, $900 in China and $646 in France.

The difference in India's ratings for number of tourist arrivals and total receipts suggests that the country has been able to draw high-spending travellers. In 2013, it managed to earn $18 billion foreign exchange with only 6.8 million foreign tourists. Comparable 2013 figures for other countries are not yet available.

Other key tourist destinations like the US and China are ranked higher on both parameters. While the US was first in total receipts in 2012 ($126.2 billion), it was ranked second in the number of tourists visiting the country. China, which earned $50 billion from tourists in the year and was ranked fourth, stood third in annual foreign tourist arrivals. France, which received the highest number of foreign travellers (83 million in 2012), has been third in tourism receipts for the past three years.

The share of business travellers in inbound tourism has gone up from 15 per cent in 2009 to 23 per cent in 2012. Globally, during the year, 52 per cent of inbound tourists were for leisure and 14 per cent for business. In India, on the other hand, 27 per cent came for leisure, while 23 per cent travelled for business, according to tourism ministry data.

Besides, India also gets the advantage of being a longer-leisure destination. The average duration of stay for a foreign tourist in India is one week to a fortnight. Given a wide variety of tourist destinations the country offers, several European and American tourists stretch their stay even beyond a month. "We are not a country that a tourist just thinks of, packs a bag and lands. It is not an impulse spot; one needs to plan much in advance. This is why we are not a weekend destination like many of our neighbouring countries," says a spokesperson for Cox & Kings.

Over the past decade, India's rank in total earnings from foreign travellers has risen 20 notches - from 36 in 2000 to 16 in 2012. A depreciation in the value of the rupee has also made India an attractive option for foreign tourists. Besides, in spite of an economic slowdown, the rate of growth in tourist earnings has been higher than the global average. For instance, in 2012 when world tourism receipts grew by 3.2 per cent, India's earnings went up by seven per cent.

The country received the highest numbers tourists from the US, while Chinese nationals were the 12th-largest in terms of number of visitors.

E-visa

1,040% growth in 2015

The Times of India, Jan 15 2016

E-visa a hit: 1,040% jump in tourist inflow

Over 4.45 lakh tourists arrived in India in 2015 through the online visa scheme registering a growth of 1040.4%. The highest number of tourists came from the UK followed by the United States and Russia. Though the growth figures are high, tourists using online facilities are still a small fraction of the total foreign tourist arrivals. India attracted about 70 lakh tourists in 2015 at a growth of 4.5%. During December, 2015, a total of 1,03,617 tourists arrived on e-tourist visa as compared to 14,083 during December, 2014, registering a growth of 635.8%.

Between January-December, 2015 a total of 4,45,300 tourist arrived as compared to 39,046 during January-December, 2014 registering a growth of 1040.4%, according to tourism ministry data.The facility for applying for visas online was started in November 2014.

“This high growth may be attributed to introduction of e-tourist visa for 113 countries... the ministry said in a statement.

One of the immediate impact of the decision has been that India has moved 13 positions ahead -from 65th to 52nd rank -in the Tourism and Travel Competitive Index as per the World Economic Forum report.

According to tourism ministry data 23.81% of tourists came from the UK, 19.59% from the US, followed by Russia (9.33%), Australia (5.44%) and Germany (4.86%). Other countries include France (4.44%), Canada (4.40%), China (3.10%), Republic of Korea (1.83%) and Ukraine (1.67%).

The maximum number of arrivals were predictably at New Delhi airport where 36.23% of the foreign tourists landed. This was followed by Mumbai airport (21.90%), Goa airport (16.54%), Bengaluru airport (5.54%) and Kochi airport (4.68%). Other airports that drew foreign travellers included Chennai (4.21%), Kolkata (2.74%), Hyderabad (2.68%), Trivandrum (2.05%) and Ahmedabad (1.79%).

There were initial teething problems with the online visa facility , initially called “visa-on-arrival“.

Many tourists landed in the country only to be turned back for inadequate documentation. Inundated by complaints, the ministry changed the nomenclature to e-tourist visa. Starting with 40 countries the facility has now bee extended to 113 countries. The tourism ministry now plans to extend it for medical visas as well.