Sources close to authorities reported on Tuesday that the number of foreign tourists who visited India this year in January-June increased by 106% when compared with a similar period last year. Also, from the information provided by them, foreign exchange earnings for this period have increased in 2023 against the same numbers last year.
Hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic, India has been putting in constant efforts over time to increase the footfall of both domestic and international tourists for further developments within the country’s tourism sector. Earlier, officials had said that foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India have increased after the coronavirus pandemic.
A source said, “The number of foreign tourists who came to India this year from January to June was 43.80 lakh, which is a hundred and six percent higher than the corresponding period in this year. In 2021, the figure for domestic tourism was 677 million, and it rose to reach 1,731 million.
Talking about sharing data on the increase in tourist footfall and number of people visiting Jammu and Kashmir, it is stated that concerning 202 figures had risen above 1.8 crore while speaking values for the first six months from January-June. They remarked that the development of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi has improved tourism as a result.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 13 December 2021, inaugurated the first phase of the corridor christened Kashi Vishwanath Dham. The project is situated over an area of five lakh square feet, and it connects the temple premises to the Ganga River.
The recent arrival of tourists in Varanasi “signals a new dawn,”– Modi said during Mann Ki Baat recently.
Sources on Tuesday reported that 716 lakh people stormed the shrine last year, and 229 lakhs from January to May this year saw how fast its numbers have grown ever since they built the corridor around it. Sunil Verma, CEO of Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust, has commented that about ten crore devotees have visited the temple since the inauguration of the corridor.
