India received 6.19 million foreign tourists in 2022: Tourism minister

India received 6.19 million Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in 2022 as compared to 1.52 million during the same period in 2021, Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy said Thursday.

There were 10.93 million Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during the pre-pandemic year of 2019, Reddy said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

"Tourism Industry has shown good signs of revival after Covid-19 pandemic. According to the latest information received from the Bureau of Immigration, India received 6.19 million Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) during 2022 as compared to 1.52 million during the same period of 2021," he said.

He said that the ministry under its schemes such as Swadesh Darshan and Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual Augmentation Drive , or PRASAD, provides financial assistance to state governments and Union Territories for the development of tourism-related infrastructure to enrich tourism experience for the visitors.

He said his ministry has set up a 24x7 multi-lingual tourist info-helpline on the toll free number 1800-111-363, or on a short code 1363, in 12 languages, 10 international languages -- German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic -- and Hindi and English.

The helpline has been set up to inform domestic and foreign tourists on travel in India and report emergency while travelling.

Reddy also informed the House that while in 2021, the foreign exchange earning was Rs 65,070 crore, in 2022, the earning was Rs 1,34,543 crore.