New Delhi, Dec 4 (PTI) Foreign tourist arrivals to India have yet to reach pre-COVID-19 levels, with 85. 9 lakh of them visiting the country in 2022.
According to Foreign Tourist Visits (FTV) data for the period 2018-2022, presented in Lok Sabha on Monday, 2. 88 crore foreign tourists visited India in 2018 and that figure rose to Rs 3. 14 crore in 2019.
However, in 2020, attendance was 71. 7 lakh and fell further to 10. 5 lakh in 2021. In 2022, 85. 9 lakh foreigners visited the country.
The knowledge was presented with a written reaction to a query by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture G Kishan Reddy.
On whether the tourism ministry is contemplating to launch pilgrim tourism circuits in various parts of the country, Reddy said under its schemes, such as “Swadesh Darshan”, “Prashad’ (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive)” and “Assistance to Central Agencies”, the ministry provides financial assistance to the states and Union territories for the development of infrastructure at tourism destinations, including pilgrimage sites.
The projects of such programmes shall be known in consultation with the State Governments and Administrations of the Union Territories or Central Agencies, and shall be subject to compliance with the applicable Directives, the availability of budget and the prestige of the projects in progress.
In total, 76 projects from Swadesh Darshan, 46 from Prashad and 38 from the Ministry of Tourism’s “Assistance to Central Agencies” program have been sanctioned, Reddy said.
The ministry maintains information on pilgrims traveling across states for religious visits, he added. PTI PLB RC
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