Despite demonetisation, foreign travellers came to India in hordes

[Kashmiri Pandit]

Even demonetisation couldn’t take down India’s inbound tourism market.

Despite India’s currency woes last month—on Nov. 08, the Narendra Modi government invalidated high denomination bills that accounted for 86% of the cash in circulation—tourists flocked to Asia’s third-largest economy like never before.

In November, India saw a 9.3% growth in foreign tourist arrivals compared to the same period last year. A total of 0.89 million foreign travelers came to India in November, compared to 0.81 million in November last year.

In the process, India earned Rs 14,474 crore ($2.1 billion) in foreign exchange from foreign tourists last month.

In all, India saw a 10.4% growth in foreign travellers between January and November this year, compared to the same period last year. Total foreign tourist arrivals to India in 2016 stood at 7.8 million, as of November.

Since coming to power in 2014, the Modi government has tried to revamp the visa process for travellers visiting India. It launched an electronic visa scheme in November 2014 that was first offered to 43 countries and subsequently extended to citizens of 161 countries. Last week, the government said that the number of foreign tourist arrivals on the e-Tourist Visa (e-TV) between January and November this year stood at 917,446, a 168.5% growth over the previous year.

But it hasn’t been easy for foreign visitors in India lately. Last month, thousands of foreigners suddenly found themselves in a precarious position after the government brought in restrictions on foreign exchange. The government had only allowed foreigners to exchange old currency up to Rs5,000 upon their arrival.

In the resulting pandemonium, accounts emerged of how foreign tourists resorted to street art to raise cash after being left stranded without a penny. Some, in their apparent desperation, even chose to run away from restaurants without having paid bills.

Let’s see if foreign tourists continue their love affair with India in December, when the real impact of demonetisation was felt in the country, and later into 2017.


http://qz.com/873403/despite-demonetisation-foreign-travellers-came-to-india-in-hordes/

 

[Paranoid Android]

Even demonetisation couldn’t take down India’s inbound tourism market.

Despite India’s currency woes last month—on Nov. 08, the Narendra Modi government invalidated high denomination bills that accounted for 86% of the cash in circulation—tourists flocked to Asia’s third-largest economy like never before.

In November, India saw a 9.3% growth in foreign tourist arrivals compared to the same period last year. A total of 0.89 million foreign travelers came to India in November, compared to 0.81 million in November last year.

In the process, India earned Rs 14,474 crore ($2.1 billion) in foreign exchange from foreign tourists last month.

In all, India saw a 10.4% growth in foreign travellers between January and November this year, compared to the same period last year. Total foreign tourist arrivals to India in 2016 stood at 7.8 million, as of November.

Since coming to power in 2014, the Modi government has tried to revamp the visa process for travellers visiting India. It launched an electronic visa scheme in November 2014 that was first offered to 43 countries and subsequently extended to citizens of 161 countries. Last week, the government said that the number of foreign tourist arrivals on the e-Tourist Visa (e-TV) between January and November this year stood at 917,446, a 168.5% growth over the previous year.

But it hasn’t been easy for foreign visitors in India lately. Last month, thousands of foreigners suddenly found themselves in a precarious position after the government brought in restrictions on foreign exchange. The government had only allowed foreigners to exchange old currency up to Rs5,000 upon their arrival.

In the resulting pandemonium, accounts emerged of how foreign tourists resorted to street art to raise cash after being left stranded without a penny. Some, in their apparent desperation, even chose to run away from restaurants without having paid bills.

Let’s see if foreign tourists continue their love affair with India in December, when the real impact of demonetisation was felt in the country, and later into 2017.


http://qz.com/873403/despite-demonetisation-foreign-travellers-came-to-india-in-hordes/

May be they are coming to see new notes..

 

[Rajput battalion]

Bam bam Bholey

 

[Kashmiri Pandit]

May be they are coming to see new notes..

Bam bam Bholey

 

[Quibbler]

Very counterintuitive. Can someone give me a good explanation?

 

[Taygibay]

Or maybe tourists plan their visits to India months in advance?
So that demonetization played no role in last months' results?

​

In any case, only mergers and trekkers use money and they'll
use what they find, now won't they?
The majority in towns and resorts will use cards of one sort or another.

Again a self-absorbed media piece not based on reality, sorry!

And people will always visit India, no worry either!

Good day all, Tay.

 

[Flash_Ninja]

US, UK, Canada.

How many of these are Indians returning to get their currency exchanges?

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

What a noob article. Some things are planned well before advance. And some of the foreign tourists are also business related tours who get everything paid for by the company. So we dont need to connect demonitization to this.

 

[Hindustani78]

May be they are coming to see new notes..

So many wrong things have been done with Indians immigrants in EU that no one wants to see EU citizens in Republic of India.

Hackers are active from EU nations and on that registries are being used to hurt Indians.

By the way what is the use of Euro paper currency ?

 

[ashok321]

Wait for Jan.

November had just 22 days after demonetisation.

Why they are including 26 and half percent of tourist influx in this data for those 8 normal days?

People always pre-plan their vacations and book cheaper tickets online one or two months prior to their departure. They did not know demonetisation shik.

Many of these people are Indian origin foreigners with non Indian passport.

 

[MULUBJA]

The variety they can see starting from Medical tourism to spiritual tourism to beautiful coast to unparalleled beautiful temple to palaces and beauty of Himalayas in their low cost budget shall be phenomenal and they cannot see such variety with Indian vegetarian food test anywhere in the world. They are making right choice. They can see exceptional Gujarati Garba and rajasthani folk dance and music. They can get a roayl stay in old palaces converted into hotels and get royal treatment in A hundred to 2 hundred Dollars in any rajasthani palace turned Hotel. They can buy exceptional handicraft items and cloth at very very low price. If they go some spiritual place like haridwar and stay in Ashram, they need not spend anything. In india how much you wnat to spend depends upon you. You can stay at many places virtually free of cost.

India need a bit of promotion to attract more and more tourist.