Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Thailand and Korea (Republic of) in the Asia Pacific Region are among the top 20 tourism source countries for India, the Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat shared during his recent Rajya Sabha session.
According to the recent Ministry of Tourism presentation in Rajya Sabha, it was revealed that year 2023, welcomed 9.24 million foreign tourists into India including from the Asia Pacific countries. Notably, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Thailand and Korea (Republic of) in the Asia Pacific Region are among the top 20 tourism source countries for India signifying the importance of the region as a source market for inbound tourism.
Sharing this during his recent session, the Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that out of the total of 9.24 million foreign tourists, India received approximately 1.22 million tourists from these 6 countries of the Asia Pacific Region. This also depicts a 43.5% growth over the previous year.
Foreign tourist arrivals for medical purposes were 183,000 in 2020, 304,000 in 2021, 475,000 in 2022, and a provisional 635,000 in 2023, as per the data shared by Shekhawat.
He further shared that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched India’s official portal for Medical Value Travel (MVT) to streamline information and the patient journey for international medical travellers. To facilitate medical treatment visits, the Government of India has extended e-medical visa and e-medical attendant visa facilities to nationals of 167 countries.
To increase India’s share of the global tourism market, the Ministry of Tourism promotes India as a holistic destination in various markets, the minister mentioned. Further, the Ministry of Tourism also hosted the 46th edition of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Travel Mart in New Delhi from October 4 to 6, 2023 bringing together tourism professionals and business stakeholders from across the world, the minister stated in his written reply.
