New Delhi: More than 10 lakh foreign tourists visited India in February, around 10% higher than the corresponding month last year, the tourism ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
The number of foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in February 2018 was 10.53 lakh as compared to FTAs of 9.56 lakh in February 2017, and 8.49 lakh in February 2016.
“The growth rate in FTAs in February 2018 over February 2017 was 10.1%, compared to 12.7% in February 2017 over February 2016,” the statement said.
FTAs during the period January-February 2018 were 21.19 lakh with a growth of 9.2%, as compared to the FTAs of 19.40 lakh with a growth of 14.6% in January-February 2017 over January-February 2016.
The percentage share of FTAs in India during February 2018 among the top 15 source countries was highest from Bangladesh (18.28%) followed by US(12.40%), UK (11.75%), Canada (4.36%), Russian Federation (4.20%), France (3.24%), Malaysia (3.14%), Germany (3.04%), Sri Lanka (2.89%), Australia (2.65%), China (2.33%), Japan (2.09%), Thailand (1.92%), Afghanistan (1.65%) and Nepal (1.41%).
The percentage share of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during February 2018 among the top 15 ports was highest at Delhi Airport (30.95%) followed by Mumbai Airport (15.85%), Haridaspur Land Check Post (8.58%), Chennai Airport (6.60%), Goa Airport (5.32%), Bengaluru Airport (4.93%), Kolkata Airport (4.75%), Cochin Airport (2.63%), Gede Rail Land Check Post (2.58%), Hyderabad Airport (2.39%),Ahmedabad Airport (2.05%), Amritsar Airport (1.46%), Sonauli Airport (1.28%), Ghojadanga Land Check Post (1.27%) and Trivandrum Airport (1.23%).
During the month of February, a total of 2.76 lakh foreign tourists arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 1.70 lakh during the month of February 2017 registering a growth of 62.0%.
During January-February 2018, a total of 5.16 lakh tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 3.22 lakh during January-February 2017, registering a growth of 60.3%.
The percentage share of top 15 source countries availing e- Tourist Visa facilities during February, 2018 was highest from UK (20.1%) followed by USA (10.3%), France (7.0%), Canada (5.5%), Russian Fed (5.4%), China (5.1%), Germany (4.8%), Australia (3.4%), Thailand (2.7%), Italy (2.6%), Oman (1.8%), Korea (Rep.of) (1.7%), Netherlands (1.5%), Malaysia (1.4%),and Spain (1.4%).
The percentage share of top 15 ports in foreign tourist arrivals on e-Tourist Visa during February, 2018 was highest at New Delhi Airport (43.6%) followed by Mumbai Airport (18.6%), Dabolim (Goa) Airport (9.6%), Chennai Airport (9.5%), Bengaluru Airport (5.6%), Kochi Airport (3.6%), Kolkata Airport (3.1%), Hyderabad Airport (1.8%), Trivandrum Airport (1.6%), Amritsar Airport (1.4%), Ahmadabad Airport (1.3%), Jaipur Airport (0.9%), Gaya Airport (0.8%),Tirchy Airport (0.5%) and Calicut Airport (0.3%).
The ministry compiles monthly estimates of FTAs, including those with e-tourist visas, on the basis of their nationality and the port. The estimates are based on data received from the Bureau of Immigration (BOI).
