Lok Sabha Question No. 98 (STARRED), answered on 2015-07-27
Subject: Foreign Tourists
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: RAMCHARAN BOHARA, RAYAPATI SAMBASIVA RAO

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF TOURISM

LOK SABHA

STARRED QUESTION NO.†*98

ANSWERED ON 27.07.2015

FOREIGN TOURISTS

†*98. SHRI RAM CHARAN BOHRA:

SHRI RAYAPATI SAMBASIVA RAO:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

(a) 	whether the foreign tourists arrival is on the decline and is significantly low as compared to other Asian countries;

(b) 	if so, the reasons therefor and the steps taken by the Government to promote tourism and to increase the tourist influx;

(c) 	the total number of domestic and foreign tourists visited various religious sites in the country during each of the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise along with the revenue earned therefrom;

(d)	whether the Government proposes to formulate new policy/programme to attract foreign tourists; and

(e) 	if so, the salient features of the programme along with the funds allocated and the expenditure incurred on such programmes during the last three years?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR TOURISM (INDEPENDENT CHARGE)

(DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

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

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STATEMENT IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.†*98 ANSWERED ON 27.07.2015 REGARDING **FOREIGN TOURISTS.**

(a):	No, Madam. There is no decline in Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India in the recent past. The numbers of FTAs in India along with growth rate during 2012, 2013, 2014 and Jan-June, 2015 are as follows:

| Year                         |   FTAs (in million) |   Growth rate (%) |
|------------------------------|---------------------|-------------------|
| 2012                         |                6.58 |               4.3 |
| 2013                         |                6.97 |               5.9 |
| 2014                         |                7.68 |              10.2 |
| Jan-June, 2015 (Provisional) |                3.85 |               3.4 |

The numbers of International Tourist Arrivals in India and some other Asian countries showing comparative details during 2012, 2013 and 2014 are given below:

| **S. No.**   | **Country**        | **International Tourist Arrivals (in million)**   |          |          |
|--------------|--------------------|---------------------------------------------------|----------|----------|
|              |                    | **2012**                                          | **2013** | **2014** |
| 1            | China*             | 57.7                                              | 55.7     | 55.6     |
| 2            | Thailand           | 22.4                                              | 26.5     | 24.8     |
| 3            | Malaysia           | 25.0                                              | 25.7     | 27.4     |
| 4            | Republic of Korea* | 11.1                                              | 12.2     | 14.2     |
| 5            | Singapore          | 11.1                                              | 11.9     | 11.9     |
| 6            | Japan              | 8.4                                               | 10.4     | 13.4     |
| 7            | Indonesia          | 8.0                                               | 8.8      | 9.4      |
| 8            | India              | 6.6                                               | 7.0      | 7.7      |
| 9            | Philippines*       | 4.3                                               | 4.7      | 4.8      |
| 10           | Sri Lanka          | 1.0                                               | 1.3      | 1.5      |
|              | **World**          | **1038**                                          | **1087** | **1135** |

*: includes the figures of arrivals of nationals residing abroad.

(b):	Though there is no decline in FTAs in India in the recent past, however, measures taken to attract more foreign tourists in the country include:

i.	e - Tourist Visa:

At present, e-Tourist Visa facility is available for citizens of 74 countries arriving at 9 airports in India.

The e-Tourist Visa enables the prospective visitor to apply for an Indian Visa from his/her home country online without visiting the Indian Mission and also pay the visa fee online. Once approved, the applicant receives an email authorizing him/her to travel to India and he/she can travel with a print out of this authorization. On arrival, the visitor presents the authorization to the immigration authorities who then stamp the entry into the country.

ii.	Publicity and Promotion:

The Ministry of Tourism promotes India as a holistic destination, including the various tourism destinations and products of every State/Union Territory of the country, in the domestic and international markets.

As part of its promotional activities, Ministry of Tourism undertakes centralized international media campaigns (prints, electronics and online) under the Incredible India brand-line in key source markets as well as potential markets across the world.

The Ministry has taken up creation, development and maintenance of Walking Tours product which is an online, interactive web product that will help national and international tourists, plan and take walking tours in all major cities in India.

The Ministry of Tourism has signed an agreement with M/s Worth Your Holidays as part of which an automated holiday planner (Tripigator.com) has been linked to the website of the Ministry of Tourism to facilitate the tourists to make itineraries.

The Ministry of Tourism also provides financial assistance to stakeholders for promotion of tourism in the international and domestic markets under the Marketing Development Assistance Scheme.

iii.	Cleanliness and Hygiene:

To tackle the problem of hygiene and cleanliness at tourist destinations, the Ministry of Tourism has taken the initiative of Campaign Clean India with a vision to ensure an acceptable level of cleanliness and hygiene practices at tourist destinations. This campaign is to be sustained through adoption and involvement of private and public sector stakeholders as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

iv.	Trained Language Speaking Guides:

Selection and Training of Regional Level Tourist Guides, including linguist guides, is an ongoing process and the Ministry conducts the training programmes, through the Indian Institute of Tourism & Travel Management (IITTM), periodically.

v.	Safety of Women Tourists:

The Ministry of Tourism had advised the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations to set up Tourist Police at prominent tourist spots. As a result, the State Governments/UT Administrations of Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha have deployed Tourist Police, in one form or the other.

An advisory has been posted on the Ministry of Tourism website [www.incredibleindia.org](http://www.incredibleindia.org/) indicating that India remains safe destination for international Tourists including women tourists.

**(c):	Ministry of Tourism does not compile the exclusive data of domestic and foreign tourists visiting religious sites. However, the number of Domestic and Foreign Tourist Visits (in lakhs) to different States/UTs, including the visits to religious sites during 2012, 2013 and 2014 are as below:**

| **Sl. No.**   | **State/ UT**             | **2012**     |             | **2013**     |             |      | **2014**     |             |
|---------------|---------------------------|--------------|-------------|--------------|-------------|------|--------------|-------------|
|               |                           | **Domestic** | **Foreign** | **Domestic** | **Foreign** |      | **Domestic** | **Foreign** |
| 1             | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 2.39         | 0.18        | 2.44         | 0.15        | 0.15 | 2.85         | 0.17        |
| 2             | Andhra Pradesh            | 2072.18      | 2.93        | 980.18       | 0.70        | 0.70 | 933.07       | 0.66        |
| 3             | Arunachal Pradesh         | 1.32         | 0.05        | 1.25         | 0.11        | 0.11 | 1.81         | 0.05        |
| 4             | Assam                     | 45.11        | 0.18        | 46.85        | 0.18        | 0.18 | 48.27        | 0.22        |
| 5             | Bihar                     | 214.47       | 10.97       | 215.88       | 215.88      | 7.66 | 225.44       | 8.30        |
| 6             | Chandigarh                | 9.25         | 0.34        | 9.37         | 9.37        | 0.40 | 10.61        | 0.28        |
| 7             | Chhattisgarh              | 150.37       | 0.04        | 228.01       | 228.01      | 0.04 | 244.88       | 0.08        |

| 8   | Dadra & Nagar Haveli   | 4.69     | 0.01   |     4.82 |   0.02 |     5.80 |   0.02 |
|-----|------------------------|----------|--------|----------|--------|----------|--------|
| 9   | Daman & Diu            | 8.04     | 0.05   |     8.20 |   0.05 |     7.95 |   0.05 |
| 10  | Delhi                  | 184.95   | 23.46  |   202.15 |  23.01 |   226.27 |  23.19 |
| 11  | Goa                    | 23.37    | 4.51   |    26.29 |   4.92 |    35.45 |   5.14 |
| 12  | Gujarat                | 243.79   | 1.74   |   274.13 |   1.99 |   309.12 |   2.36 |
| 13  | Haryana                | 67.99    | 2.33   |    71.28 |   2.28 |   134.43 |   5.47 |
| 14  | Himachal Pradesh       | 156.46   | 5.00   |   147.16 |   4.14 |   159.25 |   3.90 |
| 15  | Jammu & Kashmir        | 124.27   | 0.79   |   136.42 |   0.61 |    12.62 |   0.86 |
| 16  | Jharkhand              | 204.21   | 0.32   |   205.11 |   0.46 |   334.27 |   1.55 |
| 17  | Karnataka              | 940.53   | 5.95   |   980.10 |   6.36 |  1182.83 |   5.62 |
| 18  | Kerala                 | 100.77   | 7.94   |   108.58 |   8.58 |   116.95 |   9.23 |
| 19  | Lakshadweep            | 0.04     | 0.01   |     0.05 |  0.004 |     0.18 |   0.01 |
| 20  | Madhya Pradesh         | 531.97   | 2.76   |   631.11 |   2.80 |   636.15 |   3.16 |
| 21  | Maharashtra            | 748.16   | 26.52  |   827.01 |  41.56 |   941.27 |  41.56 |
| 22  | Manipur                | 1.35     | 0.01   |     1.41 |   0.02 |     1.15 |   0.03 |
| 23  | Meghalaya              | 6.80     | 0.05   |     6.91 |   0.07 |     7.16 |   0.09 |
| 24  | Mizoram                | 0.64     | 0.01   |     0.63 |   0.01 |     0.68 |   0.01 |
| 25  | Nagaland               | 0.36     | 0.02   |     0.36 |   0.03 |     0.58 |   0.04 |
| 26  | Odisha                 | 90.53    | 0.65   |    98.00 |   0.67 |   107.91 |   0.71 |
| 27  | Puducherry             | 9.82     | 0.53   |    10.00 |   0.43 |    11.88 |   0.83 |
| 28  | Punjab                 | 190.56   | 1.44   |   213.41 |   2.04 |   242.71 |   2.55 |
| 29  | Rajasthan              | 286.12   | 14.51  |   302.98 |  14.37 |   330.76 |  15.26 |
| 30  | Sikkim                 | 5.59     | 0.26   |     5.77 |   0.32 |     5.62 |   0.49 |
| 31  | Tamil Nadu             | 1841.37  | 35.62  |  2442.32 |  39.90 |  3275.55 |  46.58 |
| 32  | Telengana              | -        | -      |   540.84 |   1.54 |   723.99 |   0.75 |
| 33  | Tripura                | 3.62     | 0.08   |     3.60 |   0.12 |     3.61 |   0.27 |
| 34  | Uttar Pradesh          | 1683.81  | 19.94  |  2265.31 |  20.54 |  1828.20 |  29.10 |
| 35  | Uttarakhand            | 268.27   | 1.25   |   199.41 |   0.98 |   219.91 |   1.02 |
| 36  | West Bengal            | 227.30   | 12.20  |   255.47 |  12.45 |   490.30 |  13.76 |
|     | Total                  | 10450.48 | 182.63 | 11452.80 | 199.51 | 12819.52 | 223.35 |

This information is not available for the year 2015. Ministry of Tourism does not compile the data of Foreign Exchange Earnings through tourism for States/UTs. However, the total Foreign Exchange Earnings through tourism in the country as whole was Rs.1,23,320/-crore (Provisional) during 2014.

(d) and (e):		The Ministry of Tourism operates a plan scheme of “Overseas Promotion and Publicity including Market Development Assistance” for promoting India Tourism overseas. The broad activities undertaken and the expenditure incurred under this scheme are given below:

1. The Ministry of Tourism, through its 14 India Tourism Offices Overseas promotes India as a preferred tourism destination in the tourism generating markets to promote various tourism products and destinations and to increase India’s share in the global tourism market. The objectives are met through an integrated marketing and promotional strategy and a synergized campaign in association with the Travel Trade, State Governments and Indian Missions overseas.
2. Participation in Travel Fairs and Exhibitions; advertising in the local print, electronic and outdoor media; organizing Road Shows, India Evenings, Seminars & workshops; organizing and supporting Indian food and cultural festivals; offering brochure and joint advertising support to overseas; and undertaking joint promotions with airlines, tour operators and other organizations.
3. The Revised Estimate (RE) and the expenditure incurred on the plan scheme of “Overseas Promotion and Publicity including Market Development Assistance” during 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 are as below:
| Year                                  |   2012-13 |   2013-14 |   2014-15 |
|---------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Revised Estimate (RE)  (Rs. in Crore) |    180.00 |    197.31 |    167.08 |
| Expenditure incurred  (Rs. in Crore)  |    182.83 |    195.29 |    166.33 |

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