19.2 mn foreigners visited India in 2023, up from 1.05 mn in 2021: Govt

A total of 1.92 crore foreign tourists visited India last year, a jump from 10.54 lakh in the pandemic year of 2021, according to the Tourism ministry.

Responding to a question in Lok Sabha, Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat gave data of foreign tourist visits (FTVs) to India from 2021 to 2023.

According to the data, 19,245,817 foreign tourist visits were recorded in 2023, while the number stood at 8,587,562 in 2022, and 1,054,642 in 2021.

Delhi saw a remarkable rise from 1,00,178 FTVs in 2021 to an estimated 1,828,116 FTVs in 2023.

Similarly, Goa's foreign tourist arrivals jumped from 22,128 in 2021 to 452,692 in 2023.

Maharashtra experienced one of the highest increases, with FTVs growing from 185,643 in 2021 to an estimated 3,387,739 in 2023.

Smaller states and UTs also reported significant growth.

The Andaman & Nicobar Islands saw an increase from 1,687 FTVs in 2021 to 9,025 in 2023.

Arunachal Pradesh, which had only 182 FTVs in 2021, welcomed 4,496 in 2023. Bihar's numbers surged dramatically from 1,046 in 2021 to 546,576 in 2023.

The overall foreign tourist visits to India rose from 1,054,642 in 2021 to an estimated 19,245,817 in 2023, indicating a robust recovery and growth in India's tourism sector post-pandemic.