US tourist arrivals to India surge 27% in four years despite advisories

Over 1.3 mn Americans visited India in 2016; arrivals from US grew 27% over the last four years

A series of US government travel advisories has not dented tourist arrivals from that country to India.

Over 1.3 million Americans visited India in 2016 and arrivals from the US grew 27 per cent over the last four years. The country accounts for around 15 per cent of India's foreign tourist arrivals and is now the second largest source market for India tourism.

Travel industry executives say the growth in arrivals from US indicates that advisories had little impact.

On Monday,  the US State Department issued a worldwide caution alerting its citizens about possibilities of terror attacks that could target them. These global alerts are issued once or twice every year. With respect to India, it said that extremist elements are active in India and urged the citzens to follow safety precautions.

Tourist arrivals from US
Year	Arrivals
2012	1.03
2013	1.08
2014	1.11
2015	1.21
2016	1.31
Figures in mn; Source: Tourism Ministry

The US government has also issued travel warnings with respect to certain countries including Pakistan and Bangladesh. There is however no such warning for travel to India.

"India is as safe as any other destination in the world and the millions of tourists who come to India each year attest to this fact. I do not think this advisory will have any major impact," said Rajeev Kohli, vice president of Indian Association of Tour Operators.

"Travel advisories typically affect the confidence of first-time travellers to India. Repeat travellers have a finer appreciation of the breadth and diversity here and are more comfortable with the ground reality. India isn't a last-minute booking destination and travellers tend to book their trips months in advance. Since we are nearly at the end of the inbound tourist season, we have witnessed no discernible impact on tourist arrivals due to the advisory. For next year, bookings will commence after the summer and it remains to be seen whether the advisory is still in force and likely to affect sentiment," said Rakshit Desai, managing director of FCM Travel Solutions.

The tourism ministry too is taking efforts to ensure safety especially of women tourists following criminal incidents. Last year the tourism ministry launched a multi lingual helpline to assist tourists in distress.

The spokesperson for US consulate in Mumbai said the recent worldwide caution was a regular update alerting American citizens about potential threats overseas. It is updated every few months as required. There are no active Travel Alerts or Travel Warnings for India at this time, she added.

Travel warnings and travel alerts

The US State Department issues a country specific travel warning asking its citizens  to consider very carefully whether they should go to a country at all.

There is no such  travel warning for India.

In addition to the periodic global caution (it was issued in March and September 2016), the US Embassy in New Delhi also issues security alerts to citizens for short-term events. For instance US travellers to Chennai were cautioned about protests over Jallikattu in January.