Foreign tourists visiting India continue to log double digit gains going into prime Indian tourist season. During the month of October 2011, Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) were 5.63 lakh (563,000) compared to 5.07 lakh (507,000) in October 2010. The growth rate of 11% narrowly beats the healthy gain seen in October 2010, of 10.5% when 4.59 lakh (459,000) FTAs were recorded for October 2009. The growth rate of 11% in October 2011, easily beat the 8.7% growth rate recorded in September 2011, over September 2010.

Year-to-Date FTAs (January – October, 2011) stand at 49.38 lakh (4.938 million) with a growth rate of 10% as compared to 44.87 lakh (4.487 million) FTAs during the same period in 2010.