New Delhi, Nov 25 (IANS) About 61.91 lakh foreign tourists arrived in India this year (January-August period) against 59.71 lakh arrivals registered in the same period last year, the government said on Monday.
In a reply to a Lok Sabha question on the first day of the Parliament’s winter session, Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that total foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) stood at 9.52 million (90.52 lakh) last year.
“As per the UNWTO Barometer published in September 2024, export revenues from international tourism in 2023 were recorded at $1.8 trillion, which includes receipts from tourism activities as well as passenger transport,” the minister said.
The tourism sector contributed 5 per cent to the country’s GDP in 2022-23, a significant surge from 1.75 per cent in 2021-22.
The Ministry of Tourism undertakes various promotional activities in important and potential tourist-generating markets with the objective of showcasing India’s tourism potential and promoting tourism in the country, including the state of Himachal Pradesh.
“The Chalo India initiative has been launched by the Ministry to encourage the huge Indian diaspora to become Incredible India ambassadors and encourage their five non-Indian friends to visit India, every year,” the minister informed.
A Chalo India portal has also been developed for registration of the Indian diaspora. There are about five million OCI card holders.
While each OCI holder can nominate up to five people, the total number of free e-visas to be granted under the initiative is one lakh.
The ministry has undertaken several steps to improve the quality of infrastructure and facilities at various tourist destinations across the country under schemes such as ‘Swadesh Darshan’, ‘PRASHAD’, and ‘Assistance to Central Agencies for Tourism Infrastructure Development’, in collaboration with States/UTs, Central agencies and private stakeholders.
The Ministry of Tourism has partnered with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Railways, and Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways to achieve this goal.
The ‘Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive’ (PRASHAD) scheme provides financial assistance to the state governments and union territories administration for the development of tourism infrastructure at the pre-identified pilgrimage destinations and heritage cities.
–IANS
na/uk
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
