India is in 41st position in tourist arrival world over

India May like to think that attracts many foreign tourists, but the fact is that the many-splendoured land of the Taj Mahal is much less visitors than many small countries like Ukraine, Tunisia, Croatia and Saudi Arabia According to a report.

received 4.44 million tourists in 2006, it lagged far behind Ukraine, which got 15.62 million tourists, Tunisia (6.55 million), Croatia (8.65 million) and Saudi Arabia (8.03 million). While India has received 4.44 million tourists in 2006, it has been delayed far behind Ukraine, which gained 15.62 million tourists, Tunisia (6.55 million), Croatia (8.65 million) and Saudi Arabia (8.03 million).

The results were the World Tourism Organization, a UN agency that produced the global tourism, and placed in the ministry of tourism 's annual publication India tourism statistics.

In 1998, India was 47th in world rankings, which rose to 54 in 2002, 44 in 2004, 41 in 2005 and 42 in 2006.

India 's share of international tourist arrivals, although increasingly in recent years, is still quite low at 0.52 percent in 2006, the report.

(21.35 million). The top of the list is France (79.08 million), followed by Spain (58.45 million), USA (51.06 million), China (49.6 million) , Italy (41.05 million), the United Kingdom (30.65 million), Germany (23.56 million) and Mexico (21.35 million).

According to the report, international tourist arrivals worldwide have registered a growth of 5.4 per cent during the year 2006, compared to 5.5 per cent in 2005 and 10 per cent in 2004 compared to the years earlier. The total international tourist arrivals in 2006 was 846 million.

The top 10 international tourist attracting countries in 2006 accounted for approximately 47 percent share. Region-wise, were the highest tourist arrivals in Europe, which attracted 461.0 million visitors in 2006, an increase of 5.1 per cent in relation to 2005.

In terms of foreign exchange earnings, however, the country has been more successful. In 2006, India earned $ 8.93 billion against 7.49 billion in 2005 - before the outbreak of countries like Tunisia and Croatia.

In recent years, there has been significant growth in arrivals of foreign tourists (FTAs) and foreign exchange earnings (FEE) of tourism. In 2007, the number of FTAs and FEE tourism was around five million dollars and 12 billion respectively, "said Tourism Secretary S. Banerjee.

France tops the list in terms of foreign exchange earnings, too, with Spain, USA, Italy, China, Britain, Germany, Australia and Turkey, following behind.