At 144%, big jump in Somalia tourist arrivals

NEW DELHI: India has seen its highest foreign tourist arrival (FTA) growth in percentage terms from Somalia between pre-Covid 2019 and 2024. At over 144%, the poor east African country is the only one to register a triple digit growth rate, surging from 5,044 in 2019 to 12,320 in 2024, according to Union tourism ministry data. Besides this surprise entry, the other countries in the top five by growth rate are Cambodia (81%), Kazakhstan (72%), Vietnam (61%) and Bhutan (47%). Somalia's growth rate would have been higher had it not seen its tourists dip from 16,607 in 2023 to 12,320 in 2024. India had 99.5 lakh FTAs in CY (calendar year) 2024, less than the pre-Covid all-time high of almost 1.1 crore. The travel industry expects to breach pre-Covid numbers either this year or latest by early next year with "continued focus on visas, infrastructure, and global promotion", according to Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) president Ravi Gosain.

"India's inbound tourism is witnessing a better rebound this season. Most of our member operators are reporting 10%-15% higher arrivals than last year, driven by renewed interest from North America, Europe, West Asia and Southeast Asia. The encouraging part is the quality of travel with longer stays, higher per-capita spending, and growing preference for experiential and sustainable tourism products," Gosain said.

Preliminary data and trade feedback indicate that CY 2025 could see 1-1.05 crore FTS compared to 1.09 crore in 2019. With "continued policy support, especially easier e-visas and India's global positioning, we are on track to surpass 2019 inbound volume by 2026," Gosain added. While India is slowly inching up to pre-pandemic levels, the ministry data show FTA recovery is different across regions. Only the Americas (US and Canada) have surpassed 2019 levels. "Asia and the Pacific remained the largest source region, accounting for 43% of total FTAs in 2024 (42.8 lakh arrivals), according to the data. However, this represents a 22.6% decline from 2019, mainly due to continued decline from South Asia (minus 28.6%) and North-East Asia (minus 49.4%). Oceania surpassed its 2019 level by 38.2%, reflecting strong recovery led by countries like Australia and New Zealand, the ministry said. Europe contributed 26.7% to FTAs in 2024 (26.6 lakh) and was just 3.2% lower than 2019 levels. The Americas showed impressive recovery and growth with 23.7 lakh arrivals in 2024. The region recorded a 20.8% growth over 2019 and constituted 23.8% of total FTAs, the ministry said. Africa accounted for 3.4% of FTAs in 2024, with near-complete recovery to 2019 levels. West Asia, contributing 2.97% to India's FTAs in 2024, witnessed a decline of 14.1% over 2019, the ministry said.