India sees over 15 per cent growth in foreign tourist arrival

India has registered a growth of over 15 per cent in foreign tourist arrival this year so far, with more people opting for the e-visa facility, the government said today.

The highest number of tourists arrived from Bangladesh (20.12 per cent), followed by the US (16.26 per cent), the UK (10.88 per cent) and France (3.01 per cent), it said.

Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTA)s from January to July were 56.74 lakh, recording a growth of 15.7 per cent as compared to 49.03 lakh in the corresponding period last year, Tourism Ministry said in a statement.

A total of 7.88 lakh foreign tourists arrived in India in July, an increase of 7.4 per cent as compared to the same month last year, it said.

As many as 7.34 lakh tourists came to India in July last year, it said.

Foreign tourists, who arrived on e-visa, also substantially increased in July.

A total of 1.19 lakh tourists came on e-visa last month as compared to 0.68 lakh in July 2016, registering a growth of 73.3 per cent.

From January to July, a total of 8.36 lakh tourists arrived on e-visa as compared to 5.40 lakh during the corresponding period last year, recording a growth of 54.7 per cent.

The UK's share was highest in the tourists availing e- visa facility at 12.9 per cent, followed by the US (12 per cent), the UAE (7.2 per cent), France (6.4 per cent), Oman (6.1 per cent) and China (5.4 per cent).

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)