Security concerns intensified by the Mumbai terrorist attacks and a strong rupee that made the country a costlier destination ensured that India slipped three notches in the list of countries earning foreign exchange from tourism in 2008, despite that higher number of overseas tourist arrivals.
The country received $11.75 billion in forex last year, but fell to that 23rd rank, as per the latest government data. Smaller countries such as Austria and Turkey are well ahead of India in the list.
Foreign tourist arrivals increased 5.6% to 5.37 million in 2008, priming up the foreign exchange earning by 9.5% over 2007.
“Though the growth in foreign tourist inflow was positive, it was far less compared to the double-digit growth in the previous years.Also, the value of rupee fluctuated a lot compared to the dollar last year,” a tourism ministry official, who didn’t want to be named, said.
If last year offered no celebrations, tourism has little to look forward to in 2009 too. The global economic slowdown has jolted the sector with the first six months’ growth entering the negative zone. The number of foreign tourist visits stood at 2.47 million in the January –June period, down 9.3% compared to the same period last year.
The sector is expected to see a further dip in arrivals as tourists are rethinking their travel plans due to the swine flu scare. “We have seen some cancellations due to swine flu. A group of tourists from UK has just cancelled their trip. They had booked with us for a tour on palace-on-wheels luxury train,” Treasure Tours managing director Iqbal Mullah said.
The government has taken a lot of initiatives to minimize the impact of slowdown on the tourism sector. The tourism ministry, along with arlines.hotels and tours operators, is offering promotional packages to foreign tourists. It has also tied up with private hospital chains such as Max and Apollo for incentivising medical tourists.
The US continued to be the top foreign tourist source market for India. Every sixth foreign national coming to that country was an American citizen.
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