India sees 15 percent growth in foreign tourist footfall, around 56.74 lakh visit in just seven months

New Delhi: India has registered a growth of over 15 percent in foreign tourist arrivals from January to July this year, with many opting for e-visa facility, the tourism ministry said in a statement.The highest number of tourists arrived from Bangladesh (20.12 percent), followed by the US (16.26 per cent), the UK (10.88 per cent) and France (3.01 per cent), said the statement which was released on Wednesday.[caption id="attachment_2614070" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Representational image. AFP [/caption]Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) from January to July, 2017, were 56.74 lakh, recording a growth of 15.7 percent as compared to 49.03 lakh in the corresponding period last year, it said.A total of 7.88 lakh foreign tourists arrived in India in July, an increase of 7.4 percent as compared to the same month last year, it said.The ministry said foreign tourists, who arrived on e-visa, also substantially increased in July.A total of 1.19 lakh tourists came on e-visa last month as compared to 0.68 lakh in July 2016, registering a growth of 73.3 percent.From January to July this year, a total of 8.36 lakh tourists arrived on e-visa as compared to 5.40 lakh during the corresponding period last year, recording a growth of 54.7 per cent, the statement said.The UK's share was highest among the tourists availing e-visa facility at 12.9 per cent, followed by the US (12 per cent), the UAE (7.2 per cent), France (6.4 per cent), Oman (6.1 per cent) and China (5.4 per cent).