NEW DELHI: Despite travel advisories being issued by countries to create a “bad perception” about India, foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) increased between June to December last year as compared to 2018, said Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel on Friday.
According to data released by the Ministry of Tourism, India saw a spike of FTAs by over 4 per cent last year between June to December. While in 2019, India saw over 63 lakh foreign tourists within six months, it saw around 60 lakh foreign tourists in the corresponding period in 2018.
The highest number of foreign tourists received in the last six months was over 12 lakh in December as compared to 2018’s over 11.91 lakh. However, in terms of percentage, the major increase was in November with a 7.8 per cent October’s 6.1 per cent, followed by 5.4 per cent in June from 2018 to 2019. There was also a 12 per cent increase in foreign exchange in earnings as compared to 2018, according to the data shared by the ministry. The rise from November 2018 to the corresponding year in 2019 was by 19.6 per cent, followed by 16.1 per cent in December, according to the data shared.
According to reports, Singapore, Canada, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia are among countries which issued travel advisories to citizens to be cautious or avoid tourist trips to specific regions in the country.
There have been nationwide protests since the CAA was passed in Parliament. Before the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, the Ministry of Home Affairs had ordered all tourists and pilgrims to leave the Valley due to security reasons. The advisory was later withdrawn in October.