Tourist Inflow to India from East Asian Countries

Tourism is seen now as a ¿sunshine¿ sector all over the world. While the last few decades have seen a spurt in the tourism activity across various continents due to several contributing factors, the economic importance of the tourism sector has surely been continuously on the rise. The data released by different global bodies including the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) indicate significant contribution from tourism to countries¿ GDP and foreign exchange reserves. Tourism has been accorded the status of an industry in many countries of the world. The inflow of foreign tourists to countries has accelerated the demand for certain economic production and distribution activities. Tourism has emerged as an industry next in importance only to information technology in the services sector. In India, the economic liberalisation and the consequent deepening of trade and investment relations with several countries of the globe of late provided an impetus to foreign tourist arrivals. The advances in information and communication technology and the growth, in particular, of the aviation sector, among others, served to create further congenial conditions for its growth.