1.47% of int’l tourists visit India annually: Minister

Ludhiana, August 8

The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2024 ranks India 39 out of 119 countries. In the 2021 index, India ranked 54. However, due to a change in the WEF’s methodology, India’s 2021 ranking has been adjusted to 38.

Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat stated this in response to questions about India’s ranking in travel and tourism development posed by Ludhiana MP (Rajya Sabha) Sanjeev Arora during the current session of the Rajya Sabha. The minister said that, according to the TTDI report, India’s scores had improved in three areas — prioritising travel and tourism, safety and security, and health and hygiene.

According to the UN Tourism barometer for May, there were 975 million international tourist arrivals worldwide in 2022, with India accounting for 14.3 million arrivals, or 1.47 per cent. In 2022, India accounted for 15.66 per cent of international tourist arrivals in the Asia-Pacific region.

The minister added that the Ministry of Tourism promoted the country’s destinations and products in a comprehensive manner, both domestically and internationally.

Besides, the ministry had reimbursed the Ministry of Civil Aviation for the cost of the UDAN-Regional Connectivity Scheme under the Champion Service Sector Scheme (CSSS), he said. The minister added 53 tourism routes were operational under UDAN-RCS to improve connectivity to important tourist destinations. — TNS