Almost 25% Increase In Foreign Tourist Arrivals In India In April 2017 Over April 2016: Govt

According to a press release by the Ministry of Tourism, there has been a 23.5% growth in foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in April 2017 over April 2016. There has also been a 63.4% growth in foreign tourist arrivals on e-tourist visa in April 2017 over April 2016.

The Ministry of Tourism compiles monthly estimates of FTAs and FTAs on e-tourist visa on the basis of nationality-wise, port-wise data received from the Bureau of Immigration (BOI).

FTAs

The following are the important highlights regarding FTAs from tourism during the month of April, 2017.

• The number of FTAs in April 2017 were 7.40 lakh as compared to FTAs of 5.99 lakh in April 2016 and 5.42 lakh in April 2015.
• The growth rate in FTAs in April, 2017 over April 2016 is 23.5% compared to 10.7% in April 2016 over April 2015.
• FTAs during the period January-April 2017 were 35.85 lakh with a growth of 15.4%, as compared to the FTAs of 31.08 lakh with a growth of 10.1% in January-April 2016 over January-April 2015.
• The percentage share of FTAs in India during April 2017 among the top 15 source countries was highest from Bangladesh (23.07%) followed by the USA (10.65%), the UK (10.51%), Germany (3.28%), Australia (3.15%), Malaysia (2.98%), China (2.95%), Sri Lanka (2.85%), Russia (2.78%), Canada (2.43%), France (2.33%), Japan (2.14%), Afghanistan (1.69%), Singapore (1.69%), and Nepal (1.61%).
• The percentage share of FTAs in India during April 2017 among the top 15 ports was highest at Delhi Airport (29.20%) followed by Mumbai Airport (15.48%), Haridaspur Land checkpost (12.88%), Chennai Airport (6.56%), Bengaluru Airport (5.67%), Kolkata Airport (5.01%), Cochin Airport (4.06%), Gede Rail Land checkpost (2.89%), Goa Airport (2.86%), Hyderabad Airport (2.60%), Ghojadanga land checkpost (1.69%), Ahmadabad Airport (1.35%), Trivandrum (1.34%), Tiruchirapalli Airport (1.31%), and Amritsar Airport (1.23%),

FTAs on e-tourist visas

The following are the important highlights regarding FTAs on e-Tourist Visa from tourism during the month of April, 2017.

• During the month of April 2017, a total of 1.14 lakh tourist arrived on e-tourist visa as compared to 0.7 lakh during the month of April 2016 registering a growth of 63.4%.
• During January-April 2017, a total of 5.82 lakh tourist arrived on e-tourist visa as compared to 3.91 lakh during January-April 2016, registering a growth of 48.8% .
• The percentage shares of top 15 source countries availing e- Tourist Visa facilities during April, 2017 were as follows: the UK (21.6%), the USA (10.2%), China (6.1%), Russia (6.1%), France (5.1%), Germany (4.7%), Australia (4.0%), Canada (2.9%), Spain (2.7%), South Africa (2.7%), South Korea (2.6%), Thailand (2.3%), Malaysia (1.7%), Netherlands (1.7%), and Singapore (1.6%).
• The percentage shares of top 15 ports in tourist arrivals on e-Tourist Visa during April, 2017 were as follows: New Delhi Airport (48.6%), Mumbai Airport (20.4%), Dabolim (Goa) Airport (7.2%), Bengaluru Airport (5.4%), Chennai Airport (5.1%), Kochi Airport (3.2%), Kolkata Airport (2.3%), Amritsar Airport (2.0%),Hyderabad Airport (1.9%), Trivandrum Airport (1.3%), Ahmadabad Airport (1.0%), Trichy Airport (0.6%), Jaipur Airport (0.5%), Calicut Airport (0.1%), and Pune Airport(0.1%).