India releases report on tourism in 2012.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: With so much news about immigration to the US and Indians trying to come to the States for work, it’s often easy to overlook the fact that many people enjoy the opposite: going to India. Although they may not be going there to become a permanent resident, India is growing more popular as a destination for tourists and sightseers.
The Indian Ministry of Tourism released its numbers from 2012. Below is a breakdown of the more important statistics included in the report:
6.58 million – the number of foreign tourists who came to India in 2012, representing a growth of 4.3% from 2011.
2.37 million – the number of foreign tourists who came to India in 1997, meaning that tourism to the country has grown by 4.21 million in 15 years, or roughly 177%.
1.035 billion – the number of people around the world who visited other countries in 2012, up 4% from the previous year.
0.64% — share of India in total international tourist arrivals, ranking the country 41.
1.65% — share of India’s international tourism receipts, ranking the country 16.
752,972 – the number of foreign tourist arrivals to India in December 2012. December and January are typically the most popular months for tourism in the country.
$17.74 billion – the amount of Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEE) received by India in 2012, a 7.1% increase from the previous year.
94,487 – the rupee equivalent, in crores, of the above number.
$128.6 billion – the amount of international tourist receipts received by the US in 2012, making it the highest earner worldwide in tourism; the US’s receipts account for just under 12% of the total international tourism receipts globally.
$2.89 billion – the amount of FEE received by India in 1997, representing an increase of $14.85 billion over 15 years, or 513.8%.
1.04 million – the number of tourist arrivals from the US into India, representing 15.8% of the total number of foreign visitors to the country and making the US India’s single highest source of tourists. The UK is second with 0.788 million, Bangladesh is third with 0.487 million, Sri Lanka is fourth with 0.297 million, and Canada is fifth with 0.256 million.
206,817,895 – the number of tourists in India in 2012 who visited the state of Andhra Pradesh, making it the most highly visited state in the country with 20% of the total share. Tamil Nadu is second with 184,136,840 visitors (17.8%), Uttar Pradesh is third with 168,381,276 visitors (16.2%), Karnataka is fourth with 94,052,729 visitors (9.1%), and Maharashtra is fifth with 66,330,229 visitors (6.4%).
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com