Tourist arrivals to India increase 7% y/y in 2014
Tourists taking boat tour on the Ganga river in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Ganga, Krishna, Buddha, North East and Kerala are five theme-based circuits that will be developed to boost tourism this yearThe number of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) to India have increased to around 7.4 million in the calendar year 2014, up around 7.1% from around 6.9 million seen in the previous year. The growth is better than the y/y growth of around 5.9% seen in 2013. According to the Ministry of Tourism, the growth in tourism has fuelled India’s Foreign Exchange Earnings due to tourism from around $18.45 billion in 2013 to about $19.66 billion in 2014, registering a y/y growth of around 6.6%. The y/y growth seen in 2013 was around 4%, said the Ministry. Most of the tourists in 2014 came from countries such as USA, UK, and Bangladesh. However, despite the huge potential to create employment and improve FEEs, India’s tourism sector remains stunted. According to official estimates, FTAs to India are less than 1% of the total FTAs. Recently, Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of Tourism, said that the government is aiming to increase the number of FTAs to 1% of the total 1.1 billion international tourists in coming years. That’s a massive jump of around 48% from the 7.4 million FTAs in India this year. The government has taken a massive cleanliness drive and is focusing on improving the ease of visa processing and security to boost tourism. The government is also keen to improve the existing tourism circuits and also promote sub-sectors such as wildlife tourism and medical tourism. The tourism sector is important to revive Brand India and for the success of the “Make in India” initiative. Tourism accounts for around 12.4% of the total employment in India, and ranks fifth globally as an export category after fuels, chemicals, food and automotive products.
This article was published on January 7, 2015.
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