Foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) increased by 106% in the first half of CY23, falling just 17% short of pre-Covid levels. This indicates that inbound travel is slowly but surely returning to pre-Covid levels. According to experts, FTAs will reach pre-Covid levels this year.

However, data from the Tourism Ministry shows that foreign currency earnings (FEEs) are 13% higher than pre-Covid levels and 46% higher than last year’s levels.

FTAs were 43,80,239 in January–June 2023 compared to 21,24,118 in January–June 2022 and 52,96,025 in January–June 2019; this is an increase of 106.2% and a decrease of 17.3%, respectively, between 2022 and 2019.

According to the data, the bulk of travelers came from Bangladesh, which claimed 23.5% of the market share, followed by travelers from the United States at 18.1%, travelers from the United Kingdom at 9.2%, travelers from Canada at 4.4%, and travelers from Australia at 4.2%.

Over 46.51% of visitors from these nations came to India for leisure travel and recreational activities, with the Indian diaspora accounting for about 25% of these visitors. Medical tourism accounted for 6.5% of all travel, while business and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) accounted for over 11%.

Since India is hosting the G20 conference this year, the country has experienced an increase in tourists as well as thousands of delegates from around the world.

Delegates can be seen extending their business travels for leisure in 2023, which is known as “bleisure” visits. The hospitality sector will have additional opportunities as a result.

The FEEs for June 2023 were INR 18,737 crore compared to INR 12,766 crore for June 2022 and INR 16,592 crore for June 2019; this is an increase of 46.78% and 12.93%, respectively, from those years.

According to data from the tourism ministry, women made up over 41.8% of inbound travelers. The prevalence of single travelers in the booking landscape, which emphasizes the predominance of trips for business, is reflected in an intriguing pattern emerging from RateGain’s Adara data. The rise in solo reservations shows that most visitors to Delhi are there on business.
Source- Hindustan times
Link- https://travelbizmonitor.com/foreign-tourist-arrivals-double-in-the-first-half-of-2023/