Spending by Visa cardholders visiting the country grew 23 per cent to Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) during July 2005-June 2006 compared with a year earlier.
Delhi emerged the largest beneficiary with Rs 1,270 crore (Rs 12.70 billion) spending, which is 21 per cent of the total spending in India.
Expectedly, leading tourist destinations such as Jaipur, Goa and Agra had the highest average transaction size. Jaipur received the highest average spend size of Rs 14,500 ($330), followed by Goa at Rs 12,400 ($282) and Agra at Rs 11,900 ($269).
Delhi and Mumbai together accounted for 40 per cent of international Visa cardholders' spending in India. The cardholders spent a total of Rs 1,130 crore ($256.4 million) in Mumbai. Bangalore turned out to be the distant third with a spend of Rs 560 crore ($127 million).
The largest spenders in the country were Visa cardholders from the European Union countries, according to a research titled 'Recent trends in spending by visitors to India'. Visitors from the EU contributed 40 per cent to the total international spending on Visa cards in India at Rs 2,420 crore ($551 million).
Cardholders from the US stood second with Rs 1,850 crore ($421 million) spending or 31 per cent of the total spending. Cardholders from Asia-Pacific countries accounted for 16 per cent of the total spending. The top three Visa spending countries in India were the US ($421 million), the UK ($268 million) and France ($69 million).
In terms of spending growth, as the research showed, cardholders from Nepal showed the most impressive growth rate of 126 per cent, followed by Mainland China (94 per cent) and South Korea (48 per cent). The size of spending by visitors from these nations, however, was comparatively small.
The average international Visa transaction (excluding cash withdrawals) between July 2005 and June 2006 was Rs 8,100 ($119). Visitors from Russia, Japan and Switzerland spent the most per transaction, with an average transaction size of Rs 14,000 ($319), Rs 13,000 ($294) and Rs 12,000 ($275), respectively.
The total number of Visa transactions by visitors to India has seen a steady growth over the past five years, and it rose 21 per cent during the year ended July 2006 from a year earlier. The majority of transactions were made at hotels (1.3 million), non-catalogue direct marketers (5,63,000) and miscellaneous apparel and accessory stores (4,98,000).
Further, visitors to India carried out 68 per cent of their transactions at retail and trade outlets (Rs 1,960 crore), for accommodation purpose (Rs 1,630 crore) and transportation (Rs 520 crore).
