MUMBAI: It seems that the Narendra Modi-led government 's focus on boosting tourism is paying off, with foreign tourist arrivals from May — when the BJP government came to power — to October this year have jumped 12 per cent to 32 lakh compared with the same period last year, points out data provided by the ministry of tourism. Last year in the same period, the growth in foreign tourists was just 6 per cent.Sumant Kumar, hospitality analyst with Elara Capital, said: "There are two reasons for this growth. First, India's perception as an investment destination has improved vastly. This was not the case with the UPA regime where policy inaction had created apathy among foreign investors. Besides, the government's decision to provide visa-on-arrival also contributed marginally to this growth." This increase in foreign tourists has benefited hotels which operate in fourand five-star categories, registering revenue growth in the range of 5-25 per cent."India's tourism industry is growing month-on-month, thanks to the government's pro-tourism initiatives. Inbound business for us is up by almost 25 per cent during May-October this year," Sarabjit Singh, senior vice-president, Indian Association of Tour Operators IATO ), which caters to inbound tourists, said.Vivek Shukla, general manager, The Lalit New Delhi, echoed similar views. "Our group has seen growth of over 15 per cent during May-October 2014 against the same period last year." Analysts point out that the demandsupply mismatch in the industry is narrowing down. In the first half of FY15, the demand triggered by the increase in arrival of foreign tourists has been absorbed by the markets since the industry already had excess rooms. “In the past two quarters, there has been an increase in demand which has been absorbed by the market. This is a good sign.Premium hotel companies such as Indian Hotels EIH and Hotel Leela Ventures , which had been clocking revenue growth in the range of 2-3 per cent, have been able to register revenues in the range of 5-10 per cent in the first half of the current fiscal," said Elara Capital's Kumar.