Chennai: The year 2015 has been an eventful for India. The country has moved up to occupy the 52nd rank among 141 nations in tourism & travel competitive index of the World Economic Forum. The year also received 7.10 million foreign footfalls, which is an increase by 4.5 per cent over the previous year.
Strongly indicating that India’s relevance as business travel destination is increasing along with its economic growth, the report says the country remains a price-competitive destination (8th ) and recent changes in its visa regime: not yet reflected in the data rankings - have the potential to boost international arrivals. But longstanding infrastructure gaps remain, especially in tourism-specific infrastructure and the quality of roads. Despite some uneven progress, India also lags on health and hygiene and the safety and security situation is unsettling, with a perceived increase in the impact of crime and violence.
According to the tourism ministry the foreign exchange earnings (provisional) was pegged at Rs 1,12,958 crore during the period January to November, 2015 representing an increase of 1 per cent over the same period of the previous year, which amounted to Rs 1,11,889 crore.
Among the states, Tamil Nadu has performed well both in terms of attracting foreigners and domestic visitors year-on-year basis, according to tourism official here. The UK nationals topped the list among the foreigners who visited India, followed by USA, France, Germany, Australia, Canada, Russian Federation, China, Ukraine and Spain.
The focus on Swachh Bharat and also the newly introduced scheme to ensure safety of tourists in the country is said to improve the overall image of the country. The Tourism Vision Document 2030 aims to address the challenges of the sector.
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