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Foreign Tourist Arrival (FTAs) in the first half of CY23 have gone up by 106 per cent, only short by 17 per cent of pre-Covid levels. This means that inbound tourism is inching close to pre-Covid levels. Experts believe that this year, FTAs will return to pre-Covid levels. Yet, foreign exchange earnings (FEEs) are 46 per cent higher compared to last year and 12 per cent higher than pre-Covid levels according to data from the Ministry of Tourism.
FTAs during the period January-June, 2023 were 43,80,239 as compared to 21,24,118 in January-June 2022 and 52,96,025 in January-June, 2019 registering a growth of 106.2 per cent and -17.3 per cent with respect to 2022 and 2019 respectively.
According to the data, reviewed by businessline, majority of the travellers came from Bangladesh which took 23.5 per cent of the pie, followed by travellers from the United States, 18.1 per cent, 9.2 per cent travellers from the UK, 4.4 per cent from Canada and 4.2 per cent from Australia.
- Also Read: How to attract more international tourists
Over 46.51 per cent of the travellers from these countries visited India for leisure holiday and recreational activities and about 25 per cent was the Indian diaspora. Business and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) was over 11 per cent and medical tourism was 6.5 per cent.
With India hosting the G20 summit this year, the country has not only seen an influx in travellers visiting India but has also brought 1,000s of delegates from across the globe.
‘Bleisure’ trips are a trend in 2023, where delegates can be seen extending their business trips for leisure purposes. This will also provide more opportunities to the hospitality industry.
Foreign exchange earnings
The FEEs during the month of June 2023 were ₹18,737 crore as compared to ₹12,766 crore in June 2022 and ₹16,592 Crore in June, 2019 registering a growth of 46.78 per cent and 12.93 per cent with respect to 2022 and 2019 respectively.
Ministry of Tourism’s data showed that over 41.8 per cent of the inbound travelers were women.
RateGain’s Adara data reflects an intriguing trend emerging as solo travellers dominate the booking landscape, underlining the preponderance of business-related visits. The surge in solo bookings suggests that most travellers are visiting Delhi for business purposes.
- Also Read: Tourism industry bounces back in 2022
India has enjoyed consistent travel from inbound tourists for decades now. According to industry players, and experts, post-Covid, the recovery for inbound travellers is slower than the domestic and outbound travel.
However, the big burning question for the Indian travel industry is on the revival of travel back to India. “Foreign inbound travel expected to return to pre-Covid levels by H2 FY24 and with weddings, G20 summit and Men’s ODI World Cup also scheduled, the management remains confident of delivering growth in FY24E as well,” analysts at ICICI Securities said.
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