Kerala among top 5 states with highest inbound tourist traffic

Mumbai: Kerala found a place among top five states in India with highest growth in inbound tourist traffic as the country's popularity as a tourism destination surged in 2017, data published by a popular travel site revealed.

According to the findings of TripAdvisor's '2017 Inbound Travel Study', Kerala was ranked fifth with 7.4 per cent growth in a list topped by Andaman and Nicobar Islands (25.1 per cent). Mizoram came second followed by Bihar and Arunachal Pradesh.

Travelers from China were the largest group evincing interest year-over-year where Indian destinations were concerned.

"The data show that travelers are also keen to explore places that are not usual for the international market, and they are looking for a wide variety of experiences on their visit which bodes well for India's tourism industry," TripAdvisor India country manager Nikhil Ganju said.

The data also showed that more travelers are writing reviews, eat as well as see in India and most of these are positive.

This study examined TripAdvisor site data to find which markets had the largest increases in share of online traffic between October 2015 and September 2016 compared to between October 2016 and September 2017.

Asian countries account for six of the top 10 markets showing an increase in the share of visitor sessions looking at Indian destinations.

China topped the list this year with a whopping 134 per cent year-on-year growth in interest for Indian destinations.

Bangladesh showed 60 per cent annual growth, followed by Singapore at 57 per cent, Thailand at 20 per cent, Japan at 16 per cent and Malaysia at 12 per cent.

However, the increase in interest from long-haul markets including The Netherlands (10 per cent), Canada (10 per cent), Russia (9 per cent) and the United Kingdom (9 per cent) signals healthy inbound travel trends for India.