Lok Sabha Question No. 4032 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-18
Subject: Surge in Foreign Tourist Arrivals
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: Prof. Sougata Ray

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4032 ANSWERED ON 18.08.2025

## SURGE IN FOREIGN TOURIST ARRIVALS

4032. PROF. SOUGATA RAY:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of number of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) recorded in the country during the last five years, year-wise;
- (b) whether India's tourism sector has seen a significant recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, with international tourist arrivals exceeding pre-pandemic levels;
- (c) if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the details of the top ten source markets for FTAs during the last five years;
- (e) whether the surge in foreign tourist arrivals has a positive impact on the  Indian  economy,  contributing  significantly  to  foreign  exchange earnings and job creation in the tourism sector; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF TOURISM            (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)

(a) to (c):   The details of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) and International Tourist Arrivals (ITAs) during the last five years are given below:

|   Year |   FTAs (in lakh) |   ITAs (in lakh) |
|--------|------------------|------------------|
|   2020 |            27.45 |            63.37 |
|   2021 |            15.27 |            70.1  |
|   2022 |            64.37 |           143.3  |
|   2023 |            95.21 |           188.99 |
|   2024 |            99.52 |           205.69 |

Source: Bureau of Immigration

(d): The  details  of  top  10  source  markets  for  FTAs  during  the  last  five years is placed at Annexure.

(e) & (f): The Foreign Exchange Earnings from tourism in India during the same period is given below:

| Year    | FEEs from Tourism in India (in Rs. Crore)   |
|---------|---------------------------------------------|
| 2020    | 95,738                                      |
| 2021    | 63,978                                      |
| 2022    | 1,69,917                                    |
| 2023    | 2,66,045                                    |
| 2024 #2 | 2,93,033                                    |

#2: Revised Estimates

The  contribution  of  tourism  sector  to  the  country's  Gross  Domestic Product (GDP) for 2020-21 to 2023-24 is given below:

| Year        |   Total Share in GDP (in %) |
|-------------|-----------------------------|
| 2020-21     |                        1.5  |
| 2021-22     |                        1.75 |
| 2022-23*    |                        5.09 |
| 2023-24 (P) |                        5.22 |

*: Revised estimates (P): Provisional estimates Source: Estimates based on the National Account Statistics (NAS) 2025

The Employment scenario in the tourism sector in India for the year 202021 to 2023-24 is given below:

| Year    |   Total Number of tourism jobs (in million) |
|---------|---------------------------------------------|
| 2020-21 |                                       68.07 |
| 2021-22 |                                       70.04 |
| 2022-23 |                                       76.17 |
| 2023-24 |                                       84.63 |

Source: Estimates based on Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)

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ANNEXURE STATEMENT  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (d)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.4032  ANSWERED  ON  18.08.2025  REGARDING  SURGE  IN FOREIGN TOURIST ARRIVALS RAISED BY PROF. SOUGATA RAY Foreign  Tourist  Arrivals  (FTAs)  from  top  10  source  countries  during  the last five years:

| S. No.          | Country                | 2020      | 2021      | 2022      | 2023      | 2024      |
|-----------------|------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| 1               | United States 3,94,092 |           | 4,29,860  | 14,03,399 | 16,91,498 | 18,04,586 |
| 2               | Bangladesh             | 5,49,273  | 2,40,554  | 12,77,557 | 21,19,826 | 17,50,165 |
| 3               | United Kingdom         | 2,91,874  | 1,64,143  | 6,41,051  | 9,20,591  | 10,22,587 |
| 4               | Australia              | 86,758    | 33,864    | 3,76,898  | 4,56,167  | 5,18,205  |
| 5               | Canada                 | 1,22,868  | 80,437    | 2,89,259  | 3,85,938  | 4,76,273  |
| 6               | Malaysia               | 69,897    | 6,628     | 1,26,192  | 2,62,458  | 3,07,526  |
| 7               | Sri Lanka              | 68,646    | 25,989    | 1,83,459  | 2,80,327  | 2,81,827  |
| 8               | Germany                | 72,558    | 33,772    | 1,41,425  | 2,23,575  | 2,56,348  |
| 9               | France                 | 74,243    | 30,374    | 1,20,282  | 1,88,981  | 2,06,855  |
| 10              | Singapore              | 33,747    | 13,407    | 1,32,668  | 1,83,772  | 2,05,383  |
| Other Countries | Other Countries        | 9,80,810  | 4,68,086  | 17,45,277 | 28,07,795 | 31,21,967 |
| Total FTAs      | Total FTAs             | 27,44,766 | 15,27,114 | 64,37,467 | 95,20,928 | 99,51,722 |

Source: Bureau of Immigration

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