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Foreign tourists’ arrival in India down to 1.52 mn in 2021 amid pandemic: Centre
In 2021, the top 15 countries from which foreign tourists arrived in India included the US, UK, Bangladesh, Canada, Nepal, Afghanistan, and Australia
The number foreign tourist arrivals in India during 2021 decreased to 1.52 million compared to 2.74 million in 2020, dropping by 44.5%, due to the restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, the India Tourism Statistics 2022 report released on Tuesday stated.
However, the arrival of NRIs increased by 52.6% in 2021 as compared to 2020.
In 2019, India saw 10.93 million foreign tourist arrivals, which dropped by 75% in 2020.
In 2021, the top 15 countries from which foreign tourists arrived in India included the US, UK, Bangladesh, Canada, Nepal, Afghanistan, and Australia.
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These nations accounted for nearly 81% of foreign tourist arrivals in India last year.
According to the report, air travel was the most favoured mode of travel for foreign tourists with 87.5% opting for it.
The statistics further show that tourism continues to be an important foreign exchange earner for the country.
In 2021, foreign exchange earnings from tourism amounted to $8.797 billion as compared to $6.959 billion in 2020, a growth of 26.4%.
The number of Indian nationals departing the country saw a rise in 2021 as compared to 2020.
In 2021, 8.55million Indian nationals departed the country as compared to 7.29million in 2020- a 7.3% increase.
Domestic tourism in India saw a minor revival with an increase of 11.05%- while in 2020, the number of domestic tourists was 610.22million, in 2021 it was 677.33million, according to the statistics.
