Question : FOREIGN TOURISTS

(a) whether up to November 2007, 4.4 million foreign tourists visited India doubling the tourists figures in a decade;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the Government has drawn any projections for the tourist inflow in the country in the next financial year in view of the current turmoil in the global markets;

(d) if so, the details in this regard;

(e) whether the Government proposes to provide incentives and encourage private sector to invest in tourism sector; and

(f) if so, the details thereof?

THE MINISTER OF TOURISM AND CULTURE (SMT. AMBIKA SONI)

(a) to (d): The Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India grew from 2.29 million in 1996 to 4.98 million in 2007 at a growth rate of 117.5%. The number of FTAs in 2007 till November was 4.40 million. The number of FTAs in 2008 is expected to be 5.57 million presuming the growth rate in FTAs observed in 2007 over 2006 to remain same in 2008 also.

(e) and (f): Tourism is overwhelmingly an industry of private sector service providers and the public sector has a significant role to play in infrastructure areas either directly or through Public Private Partnership mode.
To facilitate augmentation of budget category accommodation for tourists, the Government has asked all the State/UT Governments and other land owning agencies including Indian Railways to allocate land for building hotels, especially in the budget category. They have also been advised to follow investor-friendly land policies, adopt single window approach for promoting hotel projects, allot sites on revenue sharing basis, grant extra FAR/FSI for hotels, permit extra commercial usage in the hotels etc. so that Budget Hotels are promoted. Further, in order to increase the number of rooms in the budget category, Ministry of Tourism has floated schemes for the approval of Guest Houses and Incredible India Bed & Breakfast Establishments.
Similarly, under the scheme of assistance to Large Revenue Generating Projects, the quantum of subsidy for the projects promoted by private party is either Rs.50 crore or 25% of the total project cost or 50% of equity contribution of the private promoters, whichever is less.