Bangladeshi tourists retain top position in India 

Bangladeshi tourists have continued to hold the foremost position in India's tourism arrivals during the January-July 2023 period, with the United States, the UK, Canada, and Australia following closely behind.

Foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) during the period January- July, 2023 were 51,40,862 as compared to 29,01,769 in January-July 2022 and 61,14,150 in January-July, 2019 registering a growth of 77.2% and -15.9% with respect to 2022 and 2019 respectively, according to data of the Indian Tourism Ministry.

FTAs in India in July, 2023 were 7,60,623 as compared to 6,69,499 in July, 2022 and 8,18,125 in July, 2019 registering a growth of 13.6% and -7.0% with respect to 2022 and 2019 respectively.

Bangladeshi tourists retained top position with 23.7 per cent, followed by the USA with 17.9 per cent, the UK with 9.5 per cent, Canada with 4.2 per cent and Australia with 4.00 per cent during the January-July period of 2023, according to data from India Tourism Board.

The purpose-wise percentage share of foreign tourist arrivals in India during January-July 2023 stood as follows --- medical 6.6, leisure holiday and recreation 45.7 per cent, Indians diaspora 25.4 per cent, business and professional 10.8 per cent and others 11.5  per cent.

In addition to visiting as tourists, several thousand Bangladeshi students are currently pursuing higher education in Indian elementary schools, while several lakh seek better medical treatment in various parts of India.         

As India hosted the G-20 meeting in September and World Cup Cricket 2023, neighbouring country has slowed the visa process in case of South Asian countries, an unconfirmed source said.    

The upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup hosted by India will kick off on October 5, with the final on November 19.

After the World Cup is over next month, the Indian high commission in Bangladesh is expected to boost the visa process for Bangladeshis, sources said.       

Though reliable statistics are not available with Bangladesh Bank, National Board of Revenue, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), some  2/3 lakh Bangladeshis go to India to get better treatment. 

Bangladeshi patients with cancer, heart, eye, neuro and orthopedics go to neighbouring countries to avail themselves of better treatment, said a member of the Tour Operating Association of Bangladesh (TOAB).

A good number of Bangladeshi students are also enrolled in the boarding schools of India that also offer quality education at a competitive cost compared to English medium schools in Bangladesh, sources said.   

According to the data, the majority of the travellers came from Bangladesh which took 23.5 per cent of the pie, followed by travellers from the United States at 18.1 per cent, 9.2 per cent travellers from the UK, 4.4 per cent from Canada and 4.2 per cent from Australia.

Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in the first half of CY23 have gone up by 106 per cent, only 17 per cent short of pre-Covid levels. This means that inbound tourism is inching close to pre-Covid levels. 
Experts believe that this year, FTAs will return to pre-Covid levels.

Yet, foreign exchange earnings (FEEs) are 46 per cent higher compared to last year and 12 per cent higher than pre-Covid levels, according to data from the Tourism Ministry.

FTAs during January-June 2023 were 43,80,239 as compared to 21,24,118 in January-June 2022 and 52,96,025 in January-June, 2019 registering a growth of 106.2 per cent and -17.3 per cent with respect to 2022 and 2019, respectively.

Over 46.51 per cent of the travellers from these countries visited India for leisure holidays and recreational activities and about 25 per cent was the Indian diaspora. Business and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) was over 11 per cent and medical tourism was 6.5 per cent.
With India hosting the G20 summit this year, the country has not only seen an influx in travellers visiting India but has also brought thousands of delegates from across the globe.

‘Leisure’ trips are a trend in 2023, where delegates can extend their business trips for leisure purposes. This will also provide more opportunities to the hospitality industry.

The FEEs during June 2023 were INR 18,737 crore compared to INR 12,766 crore in June 2022 and INR 16,592 crore in June, 2019 registering a growth of 46.78 per cent and 12.93 per cent with respect to 2022 and 2019 respectively.

Bangladesh was one of the top three source countries along with the US and UK for foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India in 2022, the Indian Ministry of Tourism said in a statement on the occasion of World Tourism Day on September 27.