‘Foreign tourist arrivals likely to register flat growth in 2015’

JAIPUR: Despite the rollout of e-visa and its proposed expansion to 76 countries from 45 countries earlier, the foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in the country are expected to remain flat in 2015 largely due to the economic turmoil in Russia and CIS countries. FTAs during January- March, 2015 were 22.81 lakh with a growth of 3.2%, as compared to a growth of 7.9% during the same period last year.
The travel trade fraternity that gathered in the city for the two-day Great Indian Travel Bazaar said that while other leading source markets such as the UK and the US are doing fine, Russia remains big concern.
“The growth of inbound tourism will depend on how Russia and CIS countries fare. The economies of these countries are not in great shape. Without the support from these markets, the foreign tourist arrivals are likely to register a flat growth this year,” said Dipak Deva, co-chairman of FICCI’s national tourism committee.
Data for March this year shows that the share of Russian tourists coming to India has dropped to 2.31%. In January and February, the share was 3% and 3.5% respectively against 3.72% in whole of 2013.
After a 10.6% growth in inbound tourism in 2014, there was a belief that the momentum was back and expectations were also high as the government introduced e-visa. However, some sections of the industry feel that the travel industry is getting burdened with taxes and India is outpricing itself as an expensive destination.
“Sri Lanka is attracting lot of eyeballs in the global outbound market thanks to its lower taxes. In India, now we have to pay an additional 2% tax as Swachh Bharat cess. We are not against the cess but the government should deliver the results first and then collect the tax. Once a tax is imposed, that continues irrespective of quality of implementation of the programme,” said Sandeep Kapur, chief operating officer of Creative Travel, a Delhi-based tour operator. Kapur said that the government also needs to embark on awareness initiatives on e-visa facility in source markets so that the facility is used by a large number of foreign tourists.
“The travel industry will get enough time for marketing if the government lays down a roadmap for extending the e-visa to various countries. Prior information will make it convenient for tour operators to plan their marketing strategies,” added Kapur.
However, Deva said as a destination India is very competitive. “Given its cultural diversity, India as a tourist destination will always remain competitive. The country offers high-end hotel services which come with a price. In destinations like Thailand and Indonesia, there are more 3-star facilities and accordingly, the destination is priced,” added Deva.