Foreign tourist arrivals hit new high, US top contributor; India's rank improves from 65 to 34 | DETAILS

Foreign tourist arrivals: India has shown a major jump in the international tourist arrivals category and moved from 65th rank in 2013 to 34th rank in 2019. In 2019, approximately 10.93 million foreign tourists arrived in the country, which is 8.39 million (approx) more compared to 2001.

This jump is due to the pro-active steps taken by the Government, said a PIB report. In India, tourism & hospitality are among the largest employment-generating sectors.

"India has moved from 65th rank in 2013 to 34th rank in 2019 in @wef's Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index," PIB tweeted.

"Electronic-visa (e-visa) continues to be a game-changer for Tourism industry; available for nationals of 169 countries," it added.

The top 5 countries that took part in this incredible jump are the USA, the UK, Bangladesh, Canada and Australia. While the USA topped the list with 24.58%, the UK and Bangladesh are on the second and third number with 14.01% and 11.78% tourists arrival respectively. Canada and Australia contributed 6.86% and 5.68% respectively in March 2022.

According to an official release of PIB, FTAs in March 2022 were 3,42,308 with a positive growth rate of 117.9% as compared to 1,23,179 in march 2021, indicating the post-pandemic revival of the tourism sector.