India’s tourism industry continued to experience strong double-digit growth in the first half of 2017.

According to the latest figures from India’s Ministry of Tourism, the country welcomed a total of 4.89 million international arrivals during the six-month period, 17.2% more than in the first half of 2016.

This growth was partially driven by the popularity of the e-tourist visa scheme; India welcomed 717,000 visitors on these visas in the first half of 2017, which marks a sharp 52.0% jump compared to the first six months of 2016. This means that almost 15% of international visitors entering India during this period were issued e-tourist visas.

In June 2017 alone, India welcomed a total of 670,000 international arrivals, up 22.5% year-on-year. Bangladesh was the country’s largest source market during the month, accounting for 29.2% of total arrivals, followed by the US (19.7%) and UK (6.1%). Combined, these three countries accounted for 55% of total arrivals to India in June.

Malaysia (3.8%), Australia (2.6%), China (2.5%), Singapore (2.3%), Sri Lanka (2.2%), Japan (2.2%), Canada (2.2%) completed the top 10 source markets.

Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport handled 22.2% of inbound visitors, followed by the Haridaspur land border, which links India with Bangladesh (17.1%), and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (15.0%).