Lok Sabha Question No. 688 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-07-24
Subject: Revenue Earned from Foreign Tourists
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: Haji Fazlur Rehman

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION

## NO.†688 ANSWERED ON 24.07.2023

## REVENUE EARNED FROM FOREIGN TOURISTS

†688. SHRI HAJI FAZLUR REHMAN:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a) the  number  of  foreign  tourists  who  visited  the  country  and  the amount  of  foreign  exchange  earned  during  each  of  the  last  two years;
- (b) whether there has been a decline in the arrival of foreign tourists in the country during the current year;
- (c) if so, the reasons therefor; and
- (d) the  steps  taken  or  proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to attract foreign tourists and encourage related industries?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF TOURISM                               (SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

(a): As  per  information  received  from  Bureau  of  Immigration,  the details of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in the country during 2021 and 2022 are given below:

|   Sr. No. |   Year |   FTAs in India (in Lakh) |
|-----------|--------|---------------------------|
|         1 |   2021 |                     15.27 |
|         2 |   2022 |                     61.91 |

and the Foreign Exchange Earned (FEE) through tourism during 2021 and 2022 are given below:

|   Sr. No. | Year    | FEE through tourism (in Rs. Crore)   |
|-----------|---------|--------------------------------------|
|         1 | 2021    | 65,070                               |
|         2 | 2022 #1 | 1,34,543                             |

#1: Provisional Estimates

(b) & (c): No,  Sir.  As  per  provisional  data  received  from  Bureau  of

Immigration, India registered 31.34 Lakh Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) during January to April 2023 as compare to 11.78 Lakh FTAs during the same period of 2022.

- (d): Ministry of  Tourism has taken  several steps/  initiatives  to increase the inflow of tourists and encourage related industries as per details given below:
- (i) Launched  Swadesh  Darshan  Scheme  for  the  development  of tourism  related  infrastructure  in  the  country.  The  Ministry  of Tourism has revamped its Swadesh Darshan Scheme as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0) with the objective to develop sustainable and responsible  destinations  following  a  tourist  &  destination  centric approach.
- (ii) Launched National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual,  Heritage  Augmentation  Drive  (PRASHAD)  Scheme  for integrated development of identified pilgrimage destinations.
- (iii)
- 24x7 toll free Multi-Lingual Tourist Helpline.
- (iv) Providing facility of e-Visa for 5 sub-categories i.e. e-Tourist visa, e-Business  visa,  e-Medical  visa,  e-Medical  Attendant  visa  and  eConference visa for nationals of 167 countries.
- (v) E-Visa  has  been  further  liberalized  and  the  visa  fee  has  been substantially reduced.
- (vi) Development and promotion of 'Niche Tourism' products to attract tourist  with  specific  interest  and  to  ensure repeat  visits  for  the unique products in which India has a comparative   advantage.
- (vii) Promoting  India  as  a  holistic  tourism  destination  including  its various tourism sites and products through Ministry's social media handles and website.
- (viii)  Conducting  Programmes  under  the 'Capacity Building  for  Service Providers' (CBSP)  Scheme  to  train  and  up-grade  manpower  to provide better service standards.
- (ix) New  mountain  peaks  have  been  opened  for Mountaineering/ Trekking to give boost to adventure tourism in the country.
- (x) Lowering  of GST  on  hotels rooms  with tariffs of ₹ 1,001 to ₹7,500/night to  12%,  those  above ₹ 7,501  to  18%  to  increase India's competitiveness as a tourism destination.
- (xi) On  the  recommendation  of  the  Ministry  of  Tourism,  59  tourism routes have been awarded to the identified airlines by the Ministry of Civil Aviation under the RCS UDAN Scheme, for which Ministry of Tourism  extends  financial  support  in  form  of  VGF  (Viability  Gap Funding). 51 of these routes have been operationalized till date.

(xii) In  order  to  boost  visitor  arrival,  Ministry  of  Tourism,  Government of India has declared 'Incredible India! Visit India Year 2023'. (xiii)  To increase  the footfall of international tourists in  Buddhist destinations in India, Ministry of Tourism had organized international quiz competitions focused on the life of Buddha and various  places/sites  associated  with  Buddha  and  Buddhism  in India.  The  objective  of  the  quiz  competition  was  to  increase  the footfall  of  international  tourists  in  Buddhist  destinations  in  India, and  to  arouse  the  curiosity  among  the  youth  and  students  in Buddhist countries such as China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri  Lanka etc. to visit India. (xiv)  Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and various State Tourism departments attended WTM 2022 in London, FITUR 2023 in Madrid, ITB  2023  in  Berlin,  ATM  2023  in  Dubai  and  IMEX  2023  in Frankfurt, Germany.  During the participation, the Ministry of Tourism  had  B2B  meetings  with    foreign  Tour  Operators,  Travel Agents and various other stakeholders. The Ministry also organized the Press Meet to apprise the travel media of India's preparedness to welcome international tourists post pandemic. Further, India pavilion showcased varied tourism products including niche tourism products such as cuisine, wellness, yoga,

- wildlife, and luxury etc.
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