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Article118.pngJust before the peak summer season sets in the country, foreign tourist arrivals during March 2016 touched 8,17,000, showing a growth of about 12 per cent over March 2015 when 7,29,000 foreign tourists had arrived in India. According to figures released by the Ministry of Tourism, foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) during the January- March 2016 period were 2.50 million, registering an increase of 10% as compared to the FTAs of 2.28 million with a growth of 3.5% in January- March 2015 over January- March 2014.

Among the top 15 source countries from where the tourists visited India during March 2016 were from Bangladesh (14.07%) followed by UK (13.16%), USA (11.84%), Germany (3.74%), Canada (3.57%), Sri Lanka (3.48%), Malaysia (3.45%), Russian Federation (3.19%), China (2.92%), France (2.92%), Australia (2.83%), Japan (2.43%), Nepal (1.72%), Singapore (1.67%) and Thailand (1.60).

The percentage share of FTAs in India during March 2016 among the top 15 airports was highest at Delhi Airport (33.82%) followed by Mumbai Airport (15.97%), Chennai Airport (7.30%), Bangaluru Airport (5.44%), Goa Airport (4.05%) and Kolkata Airport (4.02%). Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from tourism in India during March 2016 were Rs. 13,115 crore as compared to Rs. 11,133 crore in March 2015 and Rs. 10,479 crore in March 2014. The growth rate in FEEs in rupee terms during March 2016 over March 2015 was 17.8%, according to official figures. FEEs from tourism in rupee terms during January- March 2016 were Rs. 40,411 crore with a growth of 15.9% as compared to the FEE of Rs. 34,875 crore during January- March 2015. FEEs in US$ terms during March 2016 were US$ 1.958 billion as compared to FEEs of US$ 1.783 billion in March last year.

The Ministry of Tourism compiles monthly estimates of FTAs on the basis of Nationality-wise, Port-wise data received from Bureau of Immigration (BOI) and Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from tourism on the basis of data available from Reserve Bank of India.”