By IANS,
New Delhi : Foreign tourist arrivals in May rose by nearly 16 percent as compared to last year, the tourism ministry said Friday.
The foreign arrivals in May was 345,000, up from 299,000 during May 2009, a growth of 15.5 percent, a ministry statement said.
In 2008, the foreign tourist arrivals in May was 304,000. Thus there was a negative growth of 1.9 percent in 2009 from the year before.
The the arrivals in May was much higher than in April.
Foreign tourist arrivals during January-May 2010 was 2.2 million, with a growth rate of 11.3 percent, the statement said.
The foreign exchange earnings similarly registered an increase in May this year. From Rs.3,249 crore in May 2009, it rose to Rs.4,358 crore this year.
The growth rate in terms of rupees in May 2010 over 2009 was 34.1 percent, the statement said.