I'nal Visa cardholders spends Rs 6,000cr in India

New Delhi, Nov 28 (UNI) International Visa cardholders spent a whopping Rs 6,000 crore in India between July 2005 and June 2006, with cardholders from the European Union emerging as the biggest spenders.

According to Visa International's latest research report released today, the spent was 23 per cent up from Rs 4,900 crore an year earlier.

The report titled 'Recent Trends in Spending by Visitors to India', shows that the contribution of foreign travellers to India's booming tourism industry amounts to about 3.8 million dollar each day.

Delhi ranks number one foreign destination with Rs 1,270 crore (21 per cent of total spend in India) recorded on visitors Visa cards, followed by Mumbai with Rs 1,130 crore (19 per cent).

These two locations accounted for 40 per cent of international Visa cardholder spend in India. Bangalore was third with Rs 560 crore or nine per cent of total Visa international inbound spend in India.

Jaipur recorded the largest average transactions of Rs 14,500 followed by Goa with Rs 12,400 and Agra with Rs 11,900.

''Global spending by international tourists is forecast to rise from 738 billion dollar today to 1.4 trillion dollar in 2014. With tourist spending averaging two billion dollar a day, the sector is a critical element of any economy and notably for India,'' said Visa International Country Manager (South Asia) Santanu Mukherjee.

He said inbound tourism to Asia Pacific alone represents 121 billion dollar or 4.3 per cent of the region's gross domestic product.

Cardholders from the US came second with Rs 1,850 crore or 31 per cent and cardholders from other Asia Pacific countries accounted for 16 per cent of the total spend by international Visa cardholders in India.

Visitors to India conducted 68 per cent of their transactions in the following top three categories - general retail and trade outlets (Rs 1,960 crore), accommodation (Rs 1,630 crore) and transport (Rs 520 crore). Visitors also withdrew Rs 1,520 crore on their Visa cards from ATMs or over the counter, accounting for 25 per cent of the total spend.

UNI SRS DKS BD1925