Government of India targets 20 million foreign tourist arrivals by 2020

The Government of India has set a target of 20 million foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) by 2020 and double the foreign exchange earnings as well, according to a latest report by Ministry of Tourism. The number of FTAs in March 2018 were 1.03 million as compared to FTAs of 905,000 in March 2017, showing an year-on-year growth of 13.4 per cent. In CY 2017, foreign tourist arrival in India stood at 10.177 million and reached 3.13 million in January-March 2018. Growth in tourist arrivals has been due to flexible government policies, developed rail and road infrastructure, ease in availability of e-visas to foreign tourists. The Government of India is working to achieve 1 per cent share in world’s international tourist arrivals by 2020 and 2 per cent share by 2025.