6.17% Increase in Tourists Footfalls from the United States (USA) to India in 2017 over 2016 

The Ministry of Tourism clarifies that the Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India from the USA during the year 2017 have registered a positive growth of 6.17% over the year 2016. The FTAs from USA in India has never declined since the year 2010.

However, it is observed from the report of National Travel & Tourism Office (NTTO), USA that the outbound tourists from the USA to India have declined by 7% in the year 2017, as compared to year 2016. The figures of outbound travellers in the report are 1195000 and 1111000 for the year 2016 and 2017 respectively. In the said report released by NTTO, it is also mentioned that Traveler volume is based on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Advanced Passenger Information System wherein all airlines are required to electronically submit passenger data on flights arriving into and departing from the United States. Thus, it is obvious that the source of data for the report is only airlines reporting. In the cases where direct flight between USA and India is not operating, it is not known whether the final destination or the transit destination is reported as India by the passengers. Moreover, departures at International check posts other than airports are not captured in the report. Therefore, it may not contain the complete information on the outbound departures from the USA.

On the other hand, the Bureau of Immigration of India (BoI) compiles the data of FTA) from the records of scanned passport of each person arriving at all the International Check Posts in India, which include Airports, Sea Ports and the Land Check Posts. The FTAs from USA in India during 2011 to 2017 and in January – August, 2018 along with growth rates over corresponding period of the previous year are shown in the table below: