Tourists spend more in India than France

Despite the problems that plague tourists in India, the country earns more fron foreign tourists than France.

Despite the problems that plague tourists in India, the country has notched a place above France in terms of average earnings from foreign tourists.

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On an average India earned Rs 65,085 from every foreign tourist, which is thrice of the tourist expenditure in France and nearly double of global average earning which stands at Rs 37,570.

However, the earning is more from the fact that an average tourist tended to stay longer because of the size of the country and the variety of attractions, says a recent FICCI study on investment opportunities in hotel infrastructure in India.

But the study cautioned that the hike in earnings may disappear like a flash in the pan if India did not match up to low-cost destination alternatives offered by China and Singapore in the neighbourhood.

Citing the example of Bangalore, the study pointed out that the hotel owners wanting to cash on the tourist rush to this IT hub, steeply increased the tariffs, forcing the professionals and business travellers to scout for no-frills accommodation alternatives.

As a result, the occupancy level in the starred hotels slipped down despite an unabated rush.

Emphasising the need of building budget hotels to make for the swell in demand, the study warned that it will just a matter of time that China and Singapore will give India a stiff competition if it did not wake up to their aggressively low-priced infrastructure development policies.