'Tourist arrival in India grew by 9% in 2011'

New Delhi: Foreign tourist arrival in India grew by close to 9 percent to 6.29 million in 2011, Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahai told Rajya Sabha today.

"The number of foreign tourist arrivals in India increased from 5.78 million in 2010 to 6.29 million in 2011, registering a growth of 8.9 percent," he said during Question Hour.

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Sahai said his ministry does not collect data of foreign tourist arrivals and relies on records of customs department which compiles arrival data every three months.

Tourism Ministry, he said, was implementing Rural Tourism Scheme with the objective of showcasing rural life, art, culture and heritage in villages. The scheme also aims at enabling the rural population to derive socio-economic benefits from development of tourism in rural areas, he said.

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The Centre sanctions Rs 70 lakh for each village for development of infrastructure and creation of facilities for promotion of rural tourism, he said, adding 74 projects are being currently implemented in different parts of the country.

Under the scheme, Central financial assistance is given for infrastructure development activities including improvement of roads, landscaping of parks, solid waste and sewerage management facilities, and accommodation for tourists.

The Minister said Rs 25 crore has been sanctioned for the Mathura-Govardhan tourism circuit. He welcomed the suggestion for incentivising government employees to undertake visits to rural tourist attractions on LTA.

PTI