Tamil Nadu was the state to host a maximum number of foreign tourists in one year. (Bloomberg image)

Foreign tourists visit India for temples, palaces, historical sights, and peace, more than glamourous beaches and nightlife. This is further attested by the fact that while a little less than 10 lakh foreign tourists visited Goa in 2018, more than 60 lakh such tourists preferred Tamil Nadu for their visit. Tamil Nadu was the state to host a maximum number of foreign tourists in one year, according to the data provided by Prahlad Singh Patel, MoS (IC), Ministry of Tourism, in a reply to a question in Lok Sabha today. Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, and West Bengal follow Tamil Nadu in hosting the foreign tourists.

On the darker side, Mizoram was the state that received the least number of foreign tourists in one year. Only 967 such tourists visited the state in 2018. After Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh were the least preferred tourist destinations by the foreigners.

The majority of foreign tourists in India arrive from Bangladesh, followed by the USA, UK, Malaysia, China, and Australia. The foreign tourists help to increase the foreign currency and contribute significantly to the government’s revenue, this is why the government regularly puts efforts to boost foreign tourism.

A significant number of foreign tourists coming to India also come for medical purposes. In 2018, 6 per cent of the foreign tourists that came to India, came for medical purposes. Medical tourism activity is mainly driven by the private sector. The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has the role of a facilitator in terms of marketing this concept and promoting this in the key markets.

“The Ministry of Tourism has taken several steps to promote India as a medical and health tourism destination, some of which are the promotion of medical tourism at various international

Platforms, the introduction of e-visa for 169 countries, the constitution of the National Medical & Wellness Tourism Board to provide a dedicated institutional framework to take forward the cause of promotion of medical tourism, etc.