‘Incredible India’ campaign
NEW DELHI: The ‘Incredible India’ campaign attracted maximum number of foreign tourists from the United States, followed by the United Kingdom in 2010.
The visitors from the US and the UK stood at 9,31,292 and 7,59,494, respectively.
Neighbouring Bangladesh occupied the third spot with as many as 4,31,962 Bangladeshi nationals visited the country during this same period, the Tourism Ministry said.
There was, however, a decline in number of visitors from the UK and Bangladesh in 2010 as compared to the previous year.
In 2009, 7,69,251 Britons and 4,68,899 Bangladeshis visited India, according to the data.
A steady flow of tourists was also registered from other neighbouring countries like Sri Lankan (2,66,515), Nepal (1,04,374) and Pakistan (51,739).Pakistan, however, does not figure among the top 15 source countries for foreign tourist arrivals.Other foreign countries that figure in the list are Canada (2,42,372), Germany (2,27,720 visitors), Malaysia (1,79,077), Australia (1,69,647) and Japan (1,68,019).
A total 5.78 million foreign tourists visited India in 2010 as against the previous year’s 5.11 million.
The tourist arrival was affected by the recent trade advisories by western countries. In mid-October this year, travellers from the US, the UK, New Zealand, Canada and Australia were advised by their respective countries to exercise a high degree of caution when travelling to India.
“There was about 10 per cent growth in foreign tourist arrivals in October, which has fallen to 4.7 per cent in November. This is a major concern for us,” a senior Tourism Ministry official said.Besides travel advisories, economic slide in the US and Europe have also affected the tourism sector.
The Tourism Ministry has firmed up an action plan to attract visitors from CIS, Middle-East and African countries,” he said.-PTI
