News: The Ministry of Tourism has released the Indian Tourist Statistics,2020.
Facts:
Key Takeaways:
- Domestic Tourists: Uttar Pradesh has attracted the highest number of domestic tourists in year 2019.
- Foreign Tourists: Tamil Nadu has topped the highest number of foreign tourists in year 2019.
- Top 5 Source Countries for Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India in 2019: Bangladesh, United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.
- Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India: The foreign tourist arrival in India saw an Annual Growth Rate of 3.5% in 2019.
- Foreign Exchange Earnings: The Estimated Foreign Exchange Earnings from Tourism is around US$30 billion in 2019.
- Top five destination countries for Indian Nationals Departures(IND) during 2019: UAE, Saudi Arabia, USA, Thailand and Singapore.
Additional Facts:
- Swadesh Darshan scheme: It was launched in 2014-15 by the Ministry of Tourism.It aims at the integrated development of theme-based tourist circuits. Example: Ramayana Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit.
- Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) Scheme: It was launched by the Ministry of Tourism in 2015. It aims at identifying and developing pilgrim sites across India.
- Iconic Tourist Sites Initiative: It was announced in Budget 2019-20 by the Finance Minister. The nodal ministry for the implementation of the initiative is the Ministry of Tourism.It aims to develop the selected sites into world-class tourist destinations to serve as a model for other tourism sites.
