India saw an 11.8 % increase in the number of foreign tourists visiting India in August, compared with the figures last year.

The Ministry of Tourism released figures which show that 5.99 lakh foreign tourists arrived in India in August 2015, but the number rose to 6.7 lakh for the same month this year. The growth is much higher compared to that in 2015 as the figure was 5. 76 lakh in August, 2014.

Foreign Exchange earned (FEE) through tourism for the same period is Rs 12,903 crore which means 13.1 % growth compared to the same duration in 2015. FEE grew by 9.9 % in 2015 when compared to the same period in 2014.

Incidentally, Chennai Airport accounts for 10.17 % (third highest among airports) of all FTAs, preceded by Delhi Airport (28.38%), Mumbai Airport (17.32%) and followed by Bengaluru Airport (6.83%).

The other important transit points include Cochin Airport (5.08%), Hyderabad Airport (3.98%), Kolkata Airport (3.93%), Gede Rail (2.05%), Trivandrum Airport (1.72%), Ahmadabad Airport (1.68%), Tiruchirappalli Airport (1.64%).

In terms of nationalities, Bangladeshis account for the highest FTAs at 16.61%. Hence, it is no surprise that Haridaspur Land check post witness 9.10 % of total FTAs. 

This is followed by USA (12.59%), UK (10.57%), Sri Lanka (5.92%), Malaysia (3.41%), China (2.77%), Japan (2.75%), Canada (2.63%), Germany (2.57%), France (2.54%), Australia (2.40%), Oman (2.19%), Nepal (1.95%), Singapore (1.91%) and UAE (1.68%).