New Delhi : Over 6 lakh foreign tourists arrived in India in September, an increase of 13.4 per cent as compared to the same period last year, the government said. The footfall last month led to foreign exchange earnings to the tune of Rs 11,781 crore as compared to Rs 10,415 crore in September 2015, recording a growth of 13.1 per cent, an official release said.
Foreign tourist arrival registered a growth of 13.4 per cent in September with 6.15 lakh visitors coming to India as compared to 5.42 lakh in the same month last year, it said.
Among the top 15 source countries, Bangladesh accounted for the highest share of tourist arrivals last month at 20.58 per cent, followed by the US (10.96 per cent), the UK (7.97 per cent), Malaysia (4.98 per cent), Sri Lanka (3.98 per cent) and Australia (3.47 per cent). The share of China was 3.36 per cent, while that of Germany, Japan, Canada, Nepal, France, Singapore, Afghanistan and Pakistan was 2.83 per cent; 2.79 per cent; 2.58 per cent; 2.16 per cent; 2.15 per cent; 2.08 per cent; 1.57 per cent and 1.36 per cent respectively. Foreign tourists arrival during January-September 2016 were 62.07 lakh, recording a growth of 10.5 per cent as compared to 56.15 lakh in the same period last year. Foreign exchange earnings from tourism during January-September this year were Rs 1, 12, 068 crore, witnessing a growth of 14.5 per cent over Rs 97,843 crore in the corresponding period last year.
The Delhi airport welcomed the highest share of foreign tourists in September at 30.99 per cent, followed by Mumbai airport (16.28 per cent), Haridaspur Land check post (11.62 per cent), Chennai airport (8.30 per cent), Bengaluru Airport (6.01 per cent), Kolkata airport (4.43 per cent), Cochin Airport (3.22 per cent) and Hyderabad Airport 3.01 per cent.
