The Union governments’ efforts to attract more foreign tourists appears to be paying off with a steady rise in the number of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs), the ministry said on Wednesday.

As per the Tourism Ministry, the FTAs in India have witnessed a growth of 9.7 per cent—from 7.68 million in 2014 to 8.03 million in 2015 and further to 8.80 million in 2016.

In addition, the foreign exchange earnings registered a growth of 15.2 per cent in 2016 over the previous year.

In 2014, the total revenue was Rs.1.23 crore which rose to Rs.1.35 crore in 2015 and further shot up to Rs.1.55 crore in 2016.

Talking about the increase in arrival of foreign tourists to the country, Minister of Tourism Alphons Kannanthanam said: “There has been a considerable improvement in foreign tourist arrivals in India… The country is one of the safest in the world.”

“We want the tourism sector to have a much bigger multiplier effect on job creation,” he said further.

The minister also announced the launch of a festival from Thursday that will be spread across 30 states and highlight the unique culture, dance forms, handicrafts of each state in a bid to boost the industry.

The ‘Paryatan Parv’ will take place between 5 to 25 October at 30 iconic sites across India, once in each state, he said.