look news india
Ahmedabad: India is known for its cultural and diverse heritage. Many domestic and foreign tourists travel to different corners of the country to enjoy the amazing history of India. However, the sheen of India's 'Padhaaro Mhare Desh' and Incredible India seems to be fading.
The growth of foreign exchange earnings from tourism in India is less than 2 percent. According to government data, tourism revenue in May was $2.13 billion, just 1.7 percent more than a month earlier. However, there was a 33 percent increase in the month of March and this growth rate was just 1.2 percent in April. Thus, foreign exchange earnings from the tourism sector in India in May this year have reached a 12-month low.
The tourism sector earned around $3 billion between December last year and January and February this year. The highest revenue of $3.2 billion from this sector in the last four years was recorded in December 2019. However, later due to the corona epidemic, the tourism sector revenue fell sharply to $0.01 billion in April 2020, which was the lowest since 2019.
Revenue has declined due to fewer foreign tourists. Foreign tourist arrivals fell by 0.3 percent to 6 lakh compared to a year ago. The number of foreign tourist arrivals is the lowest since June 2023. India is yet to touch the peak of the pre-pandemic year i.e. December 2019, when 12.3 lakh foreign tourists visited India.
Monthly data from the Ministry of Tourism and the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy show that 10.7 lakh tourist arrivals were recorded in December 2023, the highest number since 2020, but the number of foreign tourists has declined since then.
However, on the other hand, foreign travel by Indians is reaching an all-time high. In May this year, 2.9 lakh Indians travelled abroad, which is 13.9 per cent more than a year ago. The May report said that in the five months, the highest number of foreign tourists to India came from Bangladesh, which is 20.3 per cent of the total number of tourists. It was followed by the US (16.7 per cent), the UK (10.5 per cent), Canada (4.8 per cent) and Australia (4.4 per cent).
One-third of Indians who travelled abroad went to two countries in the Gulf region. 25 per cent Indians went to the UAE and 10.9 per cent Indians went to Saudi Arabia. Other top destinations for Indian tourists in May include the US (7.2 per cent), Thailand (5.9 per cent) and Singapore (5 per cent). Nearly 50 per cent Indians are visiting these top five countries.
The highest number of Indians going abroad (23.76 percent) flew from Delhi. It was followed by Mumbai (20.11 percent), Kochi (7.38 percent), Chennai (7.2 percent) and Hyderabad (7.12 percent). In May, while one foreign tourist was coming to India, five Indians were going abroad from here.