During the first six months this year, India welcomed nearly 4.78 million foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs), with Bangladesh and the US being the top source countries, according to data available from the Union Tourism Ministry.

This reflects a 9.1 per cent increase from the same period in 2023, although it still trails pre-pandemic levels from 2019, which recorded over 5.29 million FTAs.

The FTAs in June 2024 were 7,06,045 as compared to 6,48,008 in June 2023 and 7,26,446 in June 2019 registering a growth of nine per cent and a fall of 2.8 per cent with respect to 2023 and 2019 respectively, according to the data released by the Ministry on the occasion of the World Tourism Day marked on Friday.

“The FTAs during the period January- June 2024 were 47,78,374 as compared to 43,80,239 in January-June 2023 and 52,96,025 in January-June 2019 registering a growth of 9.1 per cent and -9.8 per cent with respect to 2023 and 2019 respectively,” it added.

According to the data on the percentage share of FTAs in India during January-June 2024, among the top five source countries were -- Bangladesh (21.55 per cent), the US (17.56 per cent), the UK (9.82 per cent), Canada (4.5 per cent) and Australia (4.32 per cent).

The FTAs trend for the month of June 2024 was similar with Bangladesh (28.49 per cent) occupying the first spot among the top five source countries, followed by the US (22.59 per cent), the UK (6.10 per cent), Australia (3.74 per cent) and Canada (3.01 per cent), as per the data shared by the ministry.

In June 2024 alone, FTAs reached 706,045, up from 648,008 in June 2023 but slightly down from 726,446 in June 2019. The increase in foreign exchange earnings, which rose to USD 15.339 billion for January-June 2024, suggests that spending per tourist is higher despite the overall lower number of arrivals.

Leisure travel remains the primary motivation for visitors, with the ministry emphasising the need for vigilance in monitoring and encouraging travelers to report symptoms of illnesses. Notably, recent geopolitical tensions could impact the recovery of inbound tourism.

The Ministry also announced the winners of the Best Tourism Villages Competition 2024, recognising 36 villages for their contributions to tourism.

Overall, while inbound tourism is on the rise, it continues to face challenges in fully recovering to pre-pandemic levels, said the experts in the sector.