Tourism in India
India recorded a total of 18 m tourists in 2019, ranking 29th in the world in absolute terms.The fact that larger countries regularly perform better in a comparison of the absolute number of guests is obvious. By putting the tourist numbers in relation to the population of India, the result is much more comparable picture: With 0.013 tourists per resident, India ranked 190th in the world. In South Asia, it ranked 6th.
India generated around 31.66 bn US Dollar in the tourism sector alone. This corresponds to 1.2 percent of its the gross domestic product and approximately 76 percent of all international tourism receipts in South Asia.
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Most popular destinations in India
No less than 7 cities in India are among the top 100 most popular destinations worldwide. In 2019 Delhi reached the 8th place with 15.20 m tourists. According to Euromonitor, all foreign tourists with at least one overnight stay were counted.| City | Tourists | Rank | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi | 15,196,500 | #8 | +20.2% |
| Mumbai | 12,442,400 | #13 | +17.5% |
| Agra | 10,127,400 | #18 | +24.4% |
| Chennai | 7,930,100 | #31 | +23.5% |
| Jaipur | 7,562,900 | #34 | +18.5% |
| Kolkatta | 3,131,200 | #74 | +10.8% |
| Bangalore | 2,676,100 | #92 | +19.5% |
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2019 spent about 1,547 US Dollars. Conversely, the inhabitants of India spend only around 930 dollars a year when they themselves spend vacations abroad.Development of the tourism sector in India from 1995 to 2019
The following chart shows the number of tourist arrivals registered in India each year. Anyone who spends at least one night in the country but does not live there for more than 12 months is considered a tourist. Insofar as the survey included the purpose of the trip, business trips and other non-tourism travel purposes have already been excluded. The number of people passing through within the same day, and e.g. crew members of ships or flights are also not considered as tourists in most countries. If the same person travels in and out more than once within the same year, each visit counts again.Data in the chart are given in millions of tourists. The red line represents the average of all 8 countries in South Asia.
Revenues in tourism
In 1995, tourism revenues amounted to 2.58 bn USD, or about 0.72 percent of the gross national product. This corresponded to about 2.12 m tourists at that time and roughly 1,216 USD per person. Within 24 years, the country's dependence on tourism has increased noticeably. In the last year of the survey, the revenue now amounts to 31.66 bn USD, accounting for 1.1 percent of the gross national product. Each visitor now spends an average of 1,767 USD for his holiday in India.
All data for India in detail
| Year | Number | Receipts | % of GNP | Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 17.91 m | 31.66 bn $ | 1.1 % | 1,767 $ |
| 2018 | 17.42 m | 29.14 bn $ | 1.1 % | 1,673 $ |
| 2017 | 15.54 m | 27.88 bn $ | 1.1 % | 1,794 $ |
| 2016 | 14.57 m | 23.11 bn $ | 1.0 % | 1,586 $ |
| 2015 | 13.28 m | 21.47 bn $ | 1.0 % | 1,616 $ |
| 2014 | 13.11 m | 20.76 bn $ | 1.0 % | 1,584 $ |
| 2013 | 6.97 m | 19.04 bn $ | 1.0 % | 2,733 $ |
| 2012 | 6.58 m | 18.34 bn $ | 1.0 % | 2,788 $ |
| 2011 | 6.31 m | 17.71 bn $ | 0.97 % | 2,807 $ |
| 2010 | 5.78 m | 14.49 bn $ | 0.86 % | 2,509 $ |
| 2009 | 5.17 m | 11.14 bn $ | 0.83 % | 2,155 $ |
| 2008 | 5.28 m | 12.46 bn $ | 1.0 % | 2,359 $ |
| 2007 | 5.08 m | 11.23 bn $ | 0.92 % | 2,211 $ |
| 2006 | 4.45 m | 8.92 bn $ | 0.95 % | 2,005 $ |
| 2005 | 3.92 m | 7.66 bn $ | 0.93 % | 1,954 $ |
| 2004 | 3.46 m | 6.31 bn $ | 0.89 % | 1,824 $ |
| 2003 | 2.73 m | 4.56 bn $ | 0.75 % | 1,673 $ |
| 2002 | 2.38 m | 3.30 bn $ | 0.64 % | 1,384 $ |
| 2001 | 2.54 m | 3.34 bn $ | 0.69 % | 1,317 $ |
| 2000 | 2.65 m | 3.60 bn $ | 0.77 % | 1,358 $ |
| 1999 | 2.48 m | 3.01 bn $ | 0.66 % | 1,213 $ |
| 1998 | 2.36 m | 2.95 bn $ | 0.70 % | 1,250 $ |
| 1997 | 2.37 m | 2.89 bn $ | 0.69 % | 1,217 $ |
| 1996 | 2.29 m | 2.83 bn $ | 0.72 % | 1,237 $ |
| 1995 | 2.12 m | 2.58 bn $ | 0.72 % | 1,216 $ |
All data correspond to the information of the World Tourism Organization.
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