Inbound tourism sees slow recovery, foreign tourists to India lower than pre-Covid level

India's inbound travel market has seen slow recovery.

India's outbound travel market has surpassed pre-Covid levels but when it comes to foreign tourists coming to India, the recovery has been slow.

The country recorded 85.9 lakh foreign tourist visitors (FTVs) in 2022 as compared to 3.14 crore in 2019, pointed out Union Tourism Minister G Krishna Reddy.

As inbound travel market is yet to reach pre-Covid levels, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has written to the Prime Minister seeking his intervention for revival of inbound tourism in the country. In the letter, the tourism body has mentioned the reasons for the decline and suggested steps which can be taken to revive the inbound tourism which has remained much below 2019-20 level.

IATO is a tourism body representing more than 1,700 inbound tour operators of the country.

The letter has listed multiple reasons for decline in numbers which includes withdrawal of incentives to the inbound tour operators on their foreign exchange earnings which were being used for overseas marketing and promotions. Another is lack of trained tourism manpower in Indian embassies who are not able to do regular interaction and follow up with the foreign tour operators. Also, there is lack of marketing and promotion of tourism in overseas markets as budgetary support for overseas promotion like Fam Trips to India, overseas road shows were withdrawn. The letter also mentioned that non-availability of funds with the Ministry of Tourism for participation in overseas travel marts and approval required from the Ministry of Finance for participation in each mart has been a big hurdle in promoting inbound tourism.

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“FTVs falling during Covid was understandable but now things are absolutely normal but our numbers are nowhere near the 2019 level. In terms of destinations, India is among the best in the world. But we are not marketing ourselves at all," said Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO.

India needs to market itself in source countries like UK, Canada, USA, Eastern Europe, said Ajay Prakash, Board Member, FAITH- Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality. "We need to do marketing campaigns, organise fam trips for travel agents showcasing our culture, tourist attraction and our cuisine. We have beautiful forts which can be presented as one of the best wedding destinations in the world.
Also we need to make obtaining visas easier. There are still a lot of countries like China and others where e-visa facilities are still not available. And if the situation demands, we should also waive off visa fees. We are a beautiful nation but we need to market ourselves as we live in a competitive world," he added.

He said that the country has multiple exotic locations which can always be promoted as a luxury wedding destination. "We need to understand that no matter how good a destination India might be, we need to market ourselves. Our neighbours are aggressive and we need to match them," he added.

In the letter, Mehra said that they have suggested multiple steps which can be taken to revive the foreign tourist numbers. "We have requested the government to offer financial support to the inbound tour operators by providing a 5 percent incentive on their net foreign exchange earnings on the condition that this be utilised for overseas promotions and marketing at least for 5 years or till the time inbound tourism to India reaches 2019-20 level."

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The second suggestion is that the Ministry of Tourism officers should be posted at Indian consulates or embassies for regular interaction and follow up with the foreign tour operators. "There should be immediate formation of National Tourism Board which is to be headed by a person whose heart beats for tourism," the letter said.