The number of foreign tourists visiting India has seen a slight increase in the first six months of 2024, but the number is still lower than the 2019 levels. Despite a 9.1% increase compared to 2023, there has been a decline of almost 10% compared to 2019. Let's take a look at the complete details.

Increase in the number of foreign tourists

The number of foreign tourists visiting India in the first six months of the year 2024 has reached 47,78,374. This number is 9.1% higher than in 2023, which indicates a gradual recovery of the tourism industry after the COVID pandemic. However, this number is still about 10% less than January-June 2019. In 2019, 52,96,025 foreign tourists came to India, which was a good figure before COVID. This means that India has still not been able to reach the number of foreign tourists to that level.

Number of international passengers at airports

On the other hand, the number of international passengers at Indian airports has seen a boom this year. There has been an increase of 9.9% in the first quarter of 2024, indicating increasing passenger interest and confidence in air travel. In addition, the number of international flights has also increased. In 2024, 674 new weekly flights were introduced on international routes from India and 1,40,435 additional seats were added.

Indian travellers travelling abroad

The number of Indian travelers traveling abroad in the year 2024 has also seen an increase of 12.28%. Between January and June 2024, 1,50,22,731 Indians took international flights, while this number was 1,33,80,079 in 2019. Countries like UAE, Saudi Arabia, USA, Thailand and Singapore have been the most popular for Indian travelers. After Covid, the enthusiasm to travel among Indians and the trend of 'revenge tourism' has increased, which can be a major reason for this increase.

Increase in foreign exchange earnings

Foreign exchange earnings have also increased by 5.54% in 2024 as compared to 2019. Foreign exchange earnings from January to June this year stood at US$ 15.339 billion, while in 2019 it was US$ 14.524 billion. However, a major reason for this increase is also the weakness of the rupee, which has seen a 25.4% increase in earnings in rupees. Nevertheless, the decline in the number of tourists makes it clear that India needs to take some steps to attract foreign tourists.

The need to promote tourism in India

A big and effective campaign is needed to promote tourism in India. A new campaign is necessary on the lines of earlier campaigns like 'Incredible India' or 'Atithi Devo Bhava'. Despite major tourist destinations like Goa, foreign tourists are preferring to visit neighbouring countries like Vietnam, Thailand and Sri Lanka instead of India due to cheaper travel and better facilities.

The need for better infrastructure

To promote tourism in India, there is a need to improve infrastructure such as cleanliness, traffic management and tourist safety. If India has to increase the number of foreign tourists and increase the foreign exchange earned from tourism, then it is important to address these challenges. Also, services like tourist helpline and tourist police should be started so that tourists can get a better experience.

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