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Almost 10 million tourists visited India 2019 — and a quarter of them preferred e-visas

Jan 3, 2020, 17:37 IST
Business Insider India

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  • In 2019, almost 10 million foreign tourists visited India — spending over ₹1,800 billion ( ₹188,364 crore) during January to November period.
  • This may be attributed to easy access to e-visas and other government schemes.
  • Of the total foreign visitors, over 2.5 million arrived on an e-tourist visa.
  • The government undertook over 100 development projects to fulfil the infrastructural demands of Indian tourism, infusing ₹68.75 billion ( ₹6875 crore)
As many as 10 million foreign tourists visited India in 2019. And they spent over ₹1,800 billion (₹188,364 crore) between January and November. That is 3.2% growth from last year.

This may be attributed to easy access to e-visas and government schemes. Of the total foreign visitors, over 2.5 million arrived on an e-tourist visa — which grew by 24%.

The government launched a five-year duration visa and one-month e-tourist visa. It also reduced application fee on e-visas. The one-month e-visa now costs between $10 - $25.

“Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) during the period January- November 2019 were ₹188,364 crore as compared to ₹175,407 crore during January to November 2018 registering a growth of 7.4%,” the tourism ministry said.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, the government spent ₹68.75 billion ( ₹6875 crore) to improve tourism infrastructure. This includes over 100 such projects under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme and National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) scheme.
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These projects are being implemented across the country to develop pilgrimage destinations and other thematic tourism circuits.

India’s rank in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) crawled up 30 spots to rank 34th in 2019 — compared to 65th in 2013.

In the budget session 2019-20, the Indian government also introduced a Tax Refund for Tourists (TRT) scheme, allowing foreigners to spend more.

“This sector has the capacity to boost the economy, foreign exchange earnings and provides a large number of jobs at every level,” the ministry said.

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