With data of NRI arrivals India jumps 16 places in International Tourist Arrivals

As per the March 2017 UNWTO barometer, India’s rank among International Tourist Arrivals in both 2014 and 2015 has bumped up to 24th compared to the previous rank of 41st and 40th, respectively. This is due to the inclusion of data regarding Non Residential Indian Arrivals allowing the comprehensive evaluation of India’s rank taking into account all factors.

As per the UNWTO definition, International Tourist Arrivals (ITAs) comprises of two components namely Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) and Arrivals of Non-Resident Nationals. The UNWTO then ranks countries based upon this measure. Earlier India only compiled data on FTAs but recently has started to collect the data of Non Residential Indian arrivals. The number of ITAs in India during 2014 and 2015 were 13.11 million and 13.28 million, respectively. The number of NRI arrivals during 2014 and 2015 were 5.43 million and 5.26 million, respectively. The addition of this data is what led to the massive leap in India’s ranking.

A significant jump has also been noticed in India’s rank in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index [TCCI]. India has closed down 12 places and has shifted from a rank of 52^nd in 2015 to 40^th in 2017.