India represents one of the most potential tourism markets in the world. It has expanded rapidly over the past few years and underpinned by the government support, rising income level and various international sports events, the Indian tourism industry will continue to grow at the fastest pace in the coming years. However, the industry may have to cope up with several challenges which will limit its growth.

Some key findings:

• India is expected to see an influx of 10 Million international tourists by 2010, up from just 5 Million in 2007.
• Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Rajasthan are the leading tourism destinations in India in terms of total tourist arrivals.
• India has been promoting its healthcare tourism by providing the visitors with private healthcare facilities. It is expected that the total market for medical tourism will reach US$ 2 Billion by 2012, representing a CAGR of 60.69%.
• Personal disposable income during 2002-2007 grew at a CAGR of 14.16%, thereby driving domestic as well as outbound tourism.
• Indian outbound tourist flow is expected to increase at a CAGR of 13.30% over the five-year period spanning from 2008 to 2012.
• India's share in the global tourism is expected to reach 1.5% by 2010.
• The growth in India's tourism market is expected to serve as a boon, driving the growth of several associated industries, including hotel industry, medical tourism industry and aviation industry.

Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) and Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEE) from Tourism in India during August 2008 and Comparative Figures of 2006 and 2007 as seen in the table below: