India recorded 18.89 million international tourist arrivals in 2023 as foreign exchange earnings (FEEs) through tourism last year surged to Rs 231,927 crore, the government said on Wednesday.

Foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India during 2023 were 9.52 million and domestic tourist visits (DTVs) were 2,509 million, according to data released by the Ministry of Tourism.

The ministry sanctioned a total of 76 projects for an amount of Rs 5,287.90 Crore under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, out of which 75 projects are physically complete.

Under this, 40 projects worth Rs 3,295.76 crore were approved under special assistance to states for capital investment (SASCI) for development of iconic tourist centres to global scale across 23 states, and 34 projects were sanctioned for Rs 793.20 crore under the ‘Swadesh Darshan 2.0’ initiative.

The Swadesh Darshan Scheme has been revamped as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0) with the objective to develop sustainable and responsible destinations following a tourist and destination-centric approach.

The Ministry of Tourism has also sanctioned a total of 48 projects for an amount of Rs 1.646.99 Crore under the PRASHAD Scheme, out of which 23 projects have been completed.

A total of 65 projects for an amount of Rs 937.56 crore have been sanctioned under the Assistance to Central Agencies Scheme, out of which 38 projects have been physically completed, informed the ministry.

The government has formulated guidelines for ‘Challenge Based Destination Development’ as sub scheme of Swadesh Darshan 2.0 Scheme to enhance tourist experience across all points of the tourist value chain.

The ministry said it has selected 42 destinations under various tourism themes for development under the scheme.

The ‘Chalo India’ campaign was launched to invite Indian diaspora to showcase India to their non-Indian friends worldwide; One lakh free e-visas for foreign tourists visiting India were issued under the campaign.

The ministry also unveiled the ‘Incredible India Content Hub’ to provide global travel and tourism industry a unified source of content on Incredible India.