Foreign tourist arrivals register 13 per cent growth in March this yr

Foreign tourist arrivals in India registered a growth of more than 13 per cent in March 2018 over the same period last year, a Tourism Ministry statement said today.

The Foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) during January-March this were 31.27 lakh as compared to 28.45 lakh in the same period last year, registering a growth of 9.9 per cent, it said.

"FTAs in March 2018 were 10.26 lakh as compared to 9.05 lakh in March 2017, registering a growth of 13.4 per cent," the statement said.

The ministry compiles monthly FTAs and FTAs on e-Tourist Visa on the basis of information received from Bureau of Immigration (BOI).

According to the data provided by the ministry, most tourists who arrived in India during March 2018 came from Bangladesh (19.59 per cent), followed by the UK (11.56 per cent), the USA (10.79 per cent), Russian Federation (3.89 per cent) and Sri Lanka (3.72 per cent).

Most tourists came via the Delhi Airport (30.68 per cent) followed by Mumbai Airport (14.31 per cent), Haridaspur Land Check Post (9.12 per cent), Chennai Airport (6.53 per cent), Goa Airport (4.87 per cent), Bengaluru Airport (4.73 per cent).

During the month of March this year, a total of 2.46 lakh tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 1.46 lakh during the same month last year, registering a growth of 68.8 per cent.

During January-March 2018, a total of 7.62 lakh tourists arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 4.67 lakh during January-March 2017, registering a growth of 63.0 per cent.

The percentage share of top 15 source countries availing e-Tourist Visa were highest from the UK (19.6 per cent) followed by the USA (9.8 per cent), Russian Federation (6 per cent), France (5.5 per cent), China (5.3 per cent) and Germany (5.3 per cent).