Foreign tourist arrival up 25%

Foreign tourist arrivals have surged over 25 per cent in the first eight months of the current calendar year to 2.08 million, a significant growth over the 13.5 per cent growth in the same period last year.

During January-August, 2004 foreign exchange earnings through tourist arrival also registered a 35.9 per cent increase at Rs 14,163.14 crore over the previous year, says the latest figures released by the government on Wednesday.

In the first half of 2004, the foreign exchange earnings from tourists increased by 31.8 per cent at Rs 9,985.99 crore as against Rs 7,576 crore in the corresponding period of 2003.

The growth in tourist arrivals has been attributed to the increased advertisement drives by the government during the recent past.

It was also pointed out that the increase in foreign exchange earning can be attributed to the fact that tourists have started to stay for longer durations in the country.

"There has been an effort to attract tourists round the year as well as to extend the average stay in the country. This is the main reason for the growth in earnings," said an official.

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has recently notified India as one of the fastest growing tourist economies in the world.

According to WTTC, Indian tourism is estimated to grow at 8.8 per cent over the next 10 years. WTTC also pointed out that by 2014, the travel and tourism economy is likely to generate $90.4 billion of total demand and nearly 28 million jobs.

India is also gradually gathering popularity as a health tourist destination.

It attracted approximately 150,000 patients in 2003.

It has the potential to attract one million health tourists every year and this will contribute up to $5 billion to the economy.

The report also points out that the golden triangle, comprising Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, has become one of the most prominent tourist circuits in the world and almost 60 per cent of foreign tourists visiting India visit this sector.