According to government statistics, there were 106% more foreign visitors to India between January and June of this year than there were during the same time period in 2022.
Additionally, based on information they provided, foreign exchange earnings for this period in 2023 had increased compared to the same figures the previous year.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects, India has been making consistent attempts to increase tourism in the nation. The goal is to witness a surge in domestic and foreign tourists’ foot traffic.
Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, officials said that there had been an upsurge in FTAs to India.
“The number of foreign visitors who arrived in India this year during January-June stood at 43.80 lakh, which is 106 percent higher than the figure (21.24 lakh) for the corresponding period in 2022,” a source said on Tuesday.
According to the sources, the number of people traveling within their own country was 677 million in 2021 and increased to 1,731 million in 2022.
The source provided information on the increase in foreign visitor numbers to Jammu and Kashmir, stating that in 2022, the numbers were over 1.8 crore, while those for the months of January to June in 2023 were estimated to be 1.09 crore.
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They said that the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project in Varanasi was a factor in the city’s increased tourism.
On December 13, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the first phase of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham corridor, a project that spans 500,000 square feet and connects the temple grounds to the Ganga river.
In a recent Mann Ki Baat speech, Modi claimed that the current increase in visitors to Varanasi is evidence of a “cultural reawakening.” According to sources on Tuesday, the temple saw 7.16 crore visitors in 2022 and 2.29 crore in 2023 (January to May), indicating that since the corridor’s completion, the number of people who visit the holy site has multiplied.
According to Sunil Verma, CEO of Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust, around 10 crore worshippers have visited the temple since the corridor’s opening.
