The number of domestic tourist visits to all States/Union Territories (UTs), including the visits for religious and medical purpose, rose to 161.4 crore in 2016 from 143.2 crore in 2015, registering a growth of 12.7 % in 2016 over 2015. The number of foreign tourist visits to all States/UTs, including the visits for religious and medical purpose, has increased to 2.5 crore in 2016 from 2.3 crore in 2015, registering a growth of 5.9 % in 2016 over 2015. This was informed by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Culture and Tourism, Government of India in a written reply in Lok Sabha.

The number of foreign tourist arrivals, as differentiated from foreign tourist visits, in India has increased to 88.0 lakh in 2016 from 80.3 lakh in 2015, registering a growth of 9.7 % in 2016 over 2015. As per the information available for the current year, the number of foreign tourist arrivals in India during January-June 2017 were 48.8 lakh registering a growth of 17.2% over the same period of 2016.

As per the 2nd Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) of India – 2009-10 and subsequent estimation, the contribution of tourism to total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 were 6.77%, 6.76%, 6.76% and 6.88% respectively.