Demonetisation did not take the sheen away from India's fast-growing inbound tourism sector. Foreign tourist arrivals in November grew nine per cent (year-on-year) to 0.89 million visitors, the highest for any month in 2016.


The growth is much better than last November's increase of 6.5 per cent. The number of travellers from the US and the UK has shown strong growth. The biggest source for the month -- the US -- grew 7.7 per cent to 138,300 visitors. The UK, another major source market, grew 11.4 per cent, to 99,000 visitors last month.


At 890,000 international visitors, November is the best performing month of the year so far. The period between October and March are strong growth months for foreign tourist arrivals in the country, which does not include non-resident Indians while counting the tourist arrivals from overseas.


According to industry experts, since these are high-value travels, foreign tourists prefer to make plans two or three months before the travel date. Therefore, the impact, if any, will not be immediate.


"International guests secure their air and flight bookings well in advance. In the short term, their arrivals will not show any impact. We'll have to wait for another couple of months to see any change in pattern,' said Raj Rana, chief executive officer (south Asia) at international hotel company Carlson Rezidor, which operates 82 hotels in India under Radisson and Park Plaza brands.


Ajay Modi/Business Standard