Foreign tourist arrivals up 16.4 % in January

Foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India grew by 16.4 per cent to 4.91 lakh in January this year as against 4.22 lakh in the same month last year, an official statement said here today.

The number of foreign tourist arrivals in January, 2008 was 5.12 lakh, the statement said on the basis of data received from major airports.

According to the statement, to a large extent, the trend of substantial growth in FTAs observed during December, 2009 (21%) continued in January, 2010.

Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEE) during January this year were Rs 5593 crore as compared to Rs. 4598 crore in January 2009 and Rs. 5438 crore in January 2008.

The growth rate in FEE in rupee terms in January 2010 over January 2009 was 21.6% as compared to (-) 15.4% in January 2009 over January 2008.

The FEE in dollar terms during January this year were $ 1.215 billion as compared to $ 941 million during the same month last year and $ 1.382 billion in January, 2008.

The growth rate in FEE in dollar terms in January 2010 over January 2009 was 29.1%, the release added.

NNN