Foreign tourist arrival growth slowed to 3.2 per cent this September, compared to the 8.7 per cent witnessed in the corresponding month last year, a government statement said.
Last month, 415,000 tourists visited the country, whereas in September 2011, 402,000 tourists landed in the country. Arrivals during the January-September period stood at 4.6 million, a growth of 5.9 per cent over the 4.4 million arrivals in the corresponding period last year. Here, too, the growth is much lower, compared to the 9.9 per cent during January-September 2011.
However, riding on a weaker rupee, foreign exchange earnings (FEEs) in September 2012 were Rs 6,652 crore, compared to Rs 5,748 crore in September 2011, 15.7 per cent more. FEEs from tourism in rupee terms during January- September were Rs 66,061 crore, growth of 22.9 per cent over the Rs 53,761 crore in the corresponding period last year.
FEEs in dollars for this September were $1.2 billion, compared to $1.2 billion last September, a growth of just 0.9 per cent. FEEs from tourism in dollars during January-September this year were $12.492 billion, a growth of 5.1 per cent over the corresponding period last year.
