Tourism key forex earner for India

According to data reported in India Tourism Statistics 2022, brought out by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in 2021, the top 15 countries from which foreign tourists arrived in India included the USA, the UK, Canada, Nepal, and Australia.

TT Bureau

Due to restriction related to COVID-19, The number of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during 2021 decreased to 1.52 million as compared to 2.74 million in 2020, registering a negative growth of 44.5 per cent.

While foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) experienced a negative growth rate in 2021, NRI and ITA arrivals experienced positive growth. Arrivals of NRIs have increased by 52.6 per cent from 2020 to 2021. In comparison to 2020, there was a 10.6 per cent increase in yearly international tourist arrivals in India in 2021.

For FTAs, air travel is the most chosen mode of transportation. 87.5  per cent of the FTAs entered India via air routes, 11.8 per cent via land routes, and 0.7 per cent via sea routes. Around 53.6 per cent foreign tourists arrived in India through Delhi and Mumbai airports.

In 2021, the top 15 source markets for FTAs in India were the United States, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, Canada, Nepal, Afghanistan, Australia, Germany, Portugal, France, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, the Russian Federation, Iraq, and the Netherlands. In 2021, the top 15 nations accounted for 80.9 per cent of total FTAs in India.

Tourism continues to play an important role as a foreign exchange earner for the country. In 2021, foreign exchange earnings (FEE) from tourism were US $ 8.797 billion as compared to US$ 6.959 billion in 2020, registering a positive growth of 26.4 per cent.

The publication provides information on global and regional tourism receipts as well as International tourist arrivals (ITA). In 2021, tourism grew steadily on a global scale despite the COVID-19 prohibition. According to UNWTO, the number of ITAs in world estimated to rise by 5.3 per cent to 427 million in 2021.

1.64 per cent of all tourists worldwide comes from India. The top 10 ITA source nations worldwide are France, Italy, Mexico, United States, Spain, Turkey, Austria, Germany, United Kingdom, and Poland. India rose from 25th place in 2019 to 19th place in the world for tourism in 2020.

In comparison to 2020, there was an increase in Indian Nationals’ Departures (INDs) from India. In 2021, 8.55 million Indian Nationals’ were departed from the country, up from 7.29 million in 2020, a 17.30 per cent increase. The number of Indian citizens leaving after 2019 has dramatically dropped as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. Nevertheless, the recovery made progress in 2021.

INDs frequently travel by air, which is also the most common method. The majority of Indian National Departures (INDs) i.e. 98.4 per cent travelled by Air, with the remaining 0.8 per cent travelling by land and 0.8 per cent by sea. The majority of departures by Indian nationals roughly 41.23 per cent took placeat Delhi and Mumbai airports.

UAE was the top source nation for INDs in 2021, followed by the USA, Qatar, Oman, the United Kingdom, the Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Bahrain, and Kuwait. In 2021, the Top 10 nations accounted for around 85.93 per cent of all Indian Nationals’ Departures.

India received 677.63 million domestic tourist visits in 2021, an increase of 11.05 per cent from 610.22 million in 2020. Due to worldwide pandemic limitations, fewer foreign visitors came. As a result, India received 1.05 million foreign tourist visitors in 2021 than that in 2020 (7.17 million), representing a negative 85.29 per cent growth rate.

The two states with the most domestic tourists visiting are Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, with 140.65 million and 86.12 million, respectively. Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have the highest numbers of foreign tourist visits, with 1.26 million and 1.23 million, respectively.

Travel and Tourism created 79.86 million (direct+indirect) jobs and 15.34 per cent of jobs in the 2019–2020 year. In terms of GDP during 2019–2020, tourism contributed 5.19 per cent (direct+indirect).

India’s ranking in the global Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) is 54th in 2021.