By IANS,
New Delhi : India’s tourism picked up pace in September with more and more foreigners visiting the country for the Commonwealth Games, an official said here Tuesday.
Last month, around 3.69 lakh foreign nationals came to the country as compared to corresponding period last year. In 2009, around 3.28 lakh people had visited the country.
The figure was 3.42 lakh in the corresponding period in 2008.
According to the official, the rise gives a positive sign.
“Tourists are coming to India, despite doubts that few tourists would travel to India. This is a encouraging sign,” the official told IANS.
Around 3.8 million tourists have visited India till September this year, showing a rise of 10 percent as compared to the corresponding month last year.
In 2008, 5.28 million tourists came to India as compared to 5.11 million in 2009.
Tourism Minister Kumari Selja had claimed the ministry expected 100,000 tourists during the Commonwealth Games.
“There has been a growth of 12.6 percent in tourist arrival this year as compared to 2009. Also, the growth rate was higher as compared to August, July and June too,” the official added.
The official said that foreign exchange earnings also showed a hike. Around Rs.4,678 crore were collected as compared to Rs.3,798 crore in 2009 in September. In 2008, the September earnings were Rs.3,143 crore.