Lok Sabha Question No. 3 (STARRED), answered on 2015-11-30
Subject: Inflow of Foreign Tourists
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT, PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.†*3 ANSWERED ON 30.11.2015

## INFLOW OF FOREIGN TOURISTS

- †*3.  SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT: SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a) the  share  of  each  State/UT  in  the  foreign  tourist  inflow during the last three years and the current year; (b) whether the Government proposes to formulate any new policy/programme to  attract  more  foreign  tourists  in  the country; (c) if  so, the efforts made by the Government in this regard, State/UT-wise  and  with  specific  reference  to  Rajasthan; and whether the Government proposes to increase footfall of international  tourists  by  introducing  hassle  free  tourist visa  on  arrival/stamping  at  airports  and  ports  and  if  so,

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR TOURISM (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) (DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

- (a)  to (d):  A Statement is laid on the Table of the Sabha.

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- (d) the details thereof?

STATEMENT IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.†*3 ANSWERED  ON  30.11.2015  REGARDING  INFLOW  OF  FOREIGN TOURISTS.

(a): The State/Union Territory (UT) - wise number of Foreign Tourist Visits  (FTVs)  and  the  percentage  share  of  the  States/UTs  during 2012, 2013 and 2014 are as below:

%

| Sl.   |                           | 2012    | 2012    | 2013    | 2013    | 2014    | 2014    |
|-------|---------------------------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|
| No.   | State/ UT                 | FTVs    | % Share | FTVs    | % Share | FTVs    | % Share |
| 1     | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 17538   | 0.10    | 14742   | 0.07    | 17235   | 0.08    |
| 2     | Andhra Pradesh            | 292822  | 1.60    | 69552   | 0.35    | 66333   | 0.29    |
| 3     | Arunachal Pradesh         | 5135    | 0.03    | 10846   | 0.05    | 5204    | 0.02    |
| 4     | Assam                     | 17543   | 0.10    | 17638   | 0.09    | 21537   | 0.10    |
| 5     | Bihar                     | 1096933 | 6.01    | 765835  | 3.84    | 829508  | 3.68    |
| 6     | Chandigarh                | 34130   | 0.19    | 40124   | 0.20    | 28365   | 0.13    |
| 7     | Chhattisgarh              | 4172    | 0.02    | 3886    | 0.02    | 7777    | 0.03    |
| 8     | Dadra & Nagar Haveli      | 1234    | 0.01    | 1582    | 0.01    | 1799    | 0.01    |
| 9     | Daman & Diu               | 4607    | 0.03    | 4814    | 0.02    | 4620    | 0.02    |
| 10    | Delhi                     | 2345980 | 12.85   | 2301395 | 11.54   | 2319046 | 10.28   |
| 11    | Goa                       | 450530  | 2.47    | 492322  | 2.47    | 513592  | 2.28    |
| 12    | Gujarat                   | 174150  | 0.95    | 198773  | 1.00    | 235524  | 1.04    |
| 13    | Haryana                   | 233002  | 1.28    | 228200  | 1.14    | 547367  | 2.43    |
| 14    | Himachal Pradesh          | 500284  | 2.74    | 414249  | 2.08    | 389699  | 1.73    |
| 15    | Jammu & Kashmir           | 78802   | 0.43    | 60845   | 0.30    | 86477   | 0.38    |
| 16    | Jharkhand                 | 31909   | 0.17    | 45995   | 0.23    | 154731  | 0.69    |
| 17    | Karnataka                 | 595359  | 3.26    | 636378  | 3.19    | 561870  | 2.49    |
| 18    | Kerala                    | 793696  | 4.35    | 858143  | 4.30    | 923366  | 4.09    |
| 19    | Lakshadweep               | 580     | NEG     | 371     | NEG     | 514     | NEG     |
| 20    | Madhya Pradesh            | 275930  | 1.51    | 280333  | 1.41    | 316195  | 1.40    |

| 21   | Maharashtra   | 2651889   | 14.52   |   4156343 | 20.83   | 4389098       | 19.45   |
|------|---------------|-----------|---------|-----------|---------|---------------|---------|
| 22   | Manipur       | 749       | NEG     |      1908 | 0.01    | 2769          | 0.01    |
| 23   | Meghalaya     | 5313      | 0.03    |      6773 | 0.03    | 8664          | 0.04    |
| 24   | Mizoram       | 744       | NEG     |       800 | NEG     | 836           | NEG     |
| 25   | Nagaland      | 2489      | 0.01    |      3304 | 0.02    | 3679          | 0.02    |
| 26   | Odisha        | 64719     | 0.35    |     66675 | 0.33    | 71426         | 0.32    |
| 27   | Puducherry    | 52931     | 0.29    |     42624 | 0.21    | 83291         | 0.37    |
| 28   | Punjab        | 143805    | 0.79    |    204074 | 1.02    | 255449        | 1.13    |
| 29   | Rajasthan     | 1451370   | 7.95    |   1437162 | 7.20    | 1525574 49175 | 6.76    |
| 30   | Sikkim        | 26489     | 0.15    |     31698 | 0.16    |               | 0.22    |
| 31   | Tamil Nadu    | 3561740   | 19.49   |   3990490 | 20.02   | 4657630       | 20.62   |
| 32   | Tripura       | 7840      | 0.04    |     11853 | 0.06    | 26688         | 0.12    |
| 33   | Telengana     | NA        | NA      |    153966 | 0.77    | 75171         | 0.33    |
| 34   | Uttar Pradesh | 1994495   | 10.92   |   2054420 | 10.30   | 2909735       | 12.89   |
| 35   | Uttarakhand   | 124555    | 0.68    |     97683 | 0.49    | 101966        | 0.45    |
| 36   | West Bengal   | 1219610   | 6.68    |   1245230 | 6.24    | 1375740       | 6.10    |
|      | Total         | 18263074  |         |  19951026 |         | 22567650      |         |

NA: Not Applicable

NEG: Negligible

This information is not available for the year 2015.

(b) and (c): Development and promotion of tourism is primarily the  responsibility  of  the  State  Governments/UT  Administrations. However, Ministry of Tourism provides Central Financial Assistance (CFA)  to  State  Governments/Union  Territory  Administrations  for various  tourism  projects  subject  to  availability  of  funds,  inter-se priority,  liquidation  of  pending  utilization  certificates  against  the funds  released  earlier  and  adherence  to  the  relevant  scheme guidelines.

Various initiatives taken by the Ministry of Tourism to attract more foreign tourists in the country are as below:

- i. Central Financial Assistance (CFA):

Ministry  of  Tourism  operates  various  schemes  through  which Central Financial Assistance (CFA) is provided to States/UTs including Rajasthan  for overall  development  and  promotion  of tourism.

Recently, Ministry of Tourism has launched following two new schemes for development of tourism in thematic manner:

## Swadesh Darshan

Swadesh  Darshan  was  launched  for  development  of  theme based tourist circuits in a way that caters to both mass and niche tourism  in  a  holistic  manner.  Twelve  Circuits  namely  North-East India  Circuit,  Buddhist  Circuit,  Himalayan  Circuit,  Coastal  Circuit, Krishna  Circuit,  Desert  Circuit,  Tribal  Circuit,  Eco  Circuit,  Wildlife Circuit,  Rural  Circuit,  Spiritual  Circuit  and  Ramayana  Circuit  have been identified for development under this Scheme.

National  Mission  on  Pilgrimage  Rejuvenation  and  Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD):

This new Scheme has been launched for the development and beautification  of  pilgrimage  sites  to  tap  the  growth  of  domestic tourists  driven  by  religious  sentiments  and  to  augment  tourism infrastructure at places of pilgrimage   to facilitate pilgrims/tourists. In the first phase, cities namely  Amritsar, Kedarnath, Ajmer, Mathura,  Varanasi,  Gaya,  Puri,  Dwarka,  Amravati,  Kanchipuram, Vellankanni, Guwahati and Patna have been identified for infrastructure development.

## ii. Publicity and Promotion:

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, promotes India as a holistic destination in the international markets. As part of its promotional activities, the MoT releases campaigns in the international  markets under the Incredible India brand-line to showcase  various  tourism  destinations  those  including  Rajasthan and products including its cultural heritage. In addition to this, the Ministry  of  Tourism  promotes  various  tourism  destinations  those including Rajasthan and products through its websites and publicity and promotional material produced from time to time.

Moreover, a series of promotional activities are being undertaken in tourist generating markets overseas through the India Tourism  Offices  abroad  with  the  objective  of  showcasing  India's tourism  potential  and  promoting  tourism  to  the  country.  These promotional activities include participation in travel fairs and exhibitions; organising road shows, Know India seminars & workshops;  organizing  and  supporting  Indian  food  and  cultural festivals;  publication  of  brochures,  offering  joint  advertising  and brochure  support,  and  inviting  media  personalities,  tour  operators and  opinion  makers  to  visit  the  country  under  the  Hospitality programme of the Ministry.

The  Ministry of Tourism  provides  financial assistance to Stakeholders  and  Tourism  Departments  of  States/Union  Territories for undertaking promotional activities under the Marketing Development Assistance (MDA) Scheme.

## iii. New Tourism Policy:

The  Ministry  of  Tourism  has  formulated  a  draft  National Tourism  Policy  2015  with  the  aim  of  positioning India  as  a  'Must Experience'  and  'Must  Revisit'  destination  for  global  travellers, whilst encouraging Indians to explore their own country and realise the  potential  of  tourism  as  a  major  engine  for  economic  growth, employment  generation  and  poverty  alleviation  in  a  sustainable, responsible  and  inclusive  framework,  to  the  betterment  of  the community.  The  Ministry  has  initiated  the  process  of  seeking

Cabinet Approval for the Policy.

(d): Yes,  Madam.  The  Government  of  India  has  introduced  the facility  of  e-Tourist  Visa  (e-TV)  for  the  citizens  of  113  countries namely Andorra, Anguilla,  Antigua  &  Barbuda,  Argentina,  Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas,  Barbados,  Belgium,  Belize,  Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Island, Chile, China, China- SAR

Hongkong, China- SAR Macau, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland,  Israel,  Jamaica,  Japan,  Jordan,  Kenya,  Kiribati,  Laos, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Netherlands,  New  Zealand,Nicaragua,  Niue  Island,  Norway,  Oman, Palau,  Palestine,  Panama,  Papua  New  Guinea,  Paraguay,  Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Macedonia, Russia, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovenia, Solomon  Islands,  Spain,  Sri  Lanka,  Suriname,  Sweden,  Taiwan, Tanzania,  Thailand,  Tonga,  Turks  &  Caicos  Island,  Tuvalu,  UAE, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Vatican City-Holy See, Venezuela and Vietnam. Introduction  of  e-Tourist  Visa  is  a  Path  breaking  measure  by the  Government  in  easing  entry  formalities  in  the  country. This facility  is  now  available  at  16  airports  namely  Delhi,  Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi,  Goa,  Varanasi,  Gaya,  Ahmedabad,  Amritsar,  Tiruchirapalli, Jaipur and Lucknow. Government  of  India  has  also  revised  the  (e-TV)  fee  in  four slabs of 0, US$25, US$48 and US$60 from November 3, 2015. Earlier e-TV  application  fee  was  US$60  and  bank  charge  as  US$2  which was uniform for all the countries. The revision of Visa fee has been done on the principle of reciprocity. Bank charges have also been reduced  from  US$2  to  2.5  %  of  the  e-TV  fee.  During  the  period January  to  October,  2015  a  total  of  2,58,182  e-TV  holders  visited India  indicating the success of the new online process.

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