NEW DELHI: India witnessed a surge in women tourists over the previous year with the fairer sex accounting for as many as 2.3 million out of the nearly 5.7 million tourists who visited India this year. The figures gave women tourist arrivals a growth of12.5% as against the 11.8% growth in overall tourist arrivals that the country witnessed last year. “The female tourist segment is definitely growing very strong. We are directing our focus on India's culture, heritage and presenting India as a shopping destination, which appeal to women aesthetics,” a tourism official, working the Ministry of Tourism Government of India. India's growing tourism industry has been spurred on the Incredible India campaign that is being promoted by the Ministry of Tourism. The Indian hospitality sector has been carefully watching the figures of women arrivals (who tend to spend more). A decade ago, the share of women travelers was as low as 24.5%. It has now risen to 40.7% of total tourist arrivals, data released by the union government shows. The tourism industry however expects this to reach50% over the next three to four years. “The potential of this segment could be much higher,” Nikhil Shresta, a tourism industry stakeholder said. Travel agents and hoteliers too are eager to focus on the women segment, but say more needs to be done to make full use of it.
