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This is an archive article published on November 22, 2019

Explained: Which countries dominated tourist arrivals in India in last 3 years?

Among individual states, Tamil Nadu saw the most visits by foreign tourists in 2018 — over 60 lakh in that year.

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Telling Numbers: Countries that dominated tourist arrivals in India in last 3 years Over 8 lakh foreigners visit the Taj Mahal. (Express Archive)

Bangladesh, the United States, and the United Kingdom were the top three countries from where foreign tourists arrived in India in 2018, statistics provided by the Ministry of Tourism to Parliament show.

The Ministry’s data also exhibit a consistent increase in overall foreign tourist arrivals as well as foreign exchange earnings over the years 2016, 2017, and 2018.

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Telling Numbers: Countries that dominated tourist arrivals in India in last 3 years Foreign tourist arrivals

Among individual states, Tamil Nadu saw the most visits by foreign tourists in 2018 — over 60 lakh in that year. Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh followed, with over 50 lakh and 37 lakh visits respectively.

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In 2017, arrivals from Bangladesh increased significantly to 21,56,557 from 12,80,409 in the previous year.

Telling Numbers: Countries that dominated tourist arrivals in India in last 3 years Source: Parliament Question

In 2018, the number further went up to 22,56,675. The trend from Pakistan showed a sharp contrast, with numbers falling from 1,04,720 in 2016 to 44,266 in 2017, and further dropping to 41,659 in 2018.

YSRCP MP Vanga Geetha Viswanath had asked for the information in an unstarred question in Lok Sabha on Monday.

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