India needs to tap into its immense potential for tourism, both international and domestic, Suman Billa, joint secretary, Union Tourism Ministry said today.
In 2017, the country achieved the 10 million mark in foreign tourist arrivals and in 2018, this has touched 16 million, which shows a growth of 15.8 percent, he said at the inaugural ceremony of the three-day Rajasthan Domestic Travel Mart (RDTM) here.
The number of domestic tourist visits was 1.6 billion in 2016 and it shot up to 1.74 billion in 2017, Billa said, adding that the major growth in domestic tourist arrivals is seen from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities rather than metropolitan cities.
Kuldeep Ranka, principal secretary of Rajasthan Tourism, said an aggressive marketing campaign by the tourism promotion body, which was launched two and a half years ago, has paid rich dividends, adding that better air connectivity has made Rajasthan a preferred tourist destination.
In 2017-18, tourism in Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur increased by 64.80 percent, 61 percent and 55 percent respectively, he said.