Foreign tourist arrivals to India up , 6.97 million in 2013
TBN Correspondent ———
New Delhi: Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) to India were 6.97 million in 2013 with a growth of 5.9 per cent, as compared to FTAs of 6.58 million during 2012.
Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) during the months of January to May 2014 were 3.05 million, with a growth of 6.6 per cent compared to 2.86 million FTAs from January to May 2013.
The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Culture & Tourism Shri Shripad Yesso Naik, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on July 8 , said that the government is committed to security of the tourists visiting India keeping in view the travel advisories issued by some countries .
Some countries including the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and France have advised women tourists to exercise caution while travelling in India, particularly alone and at night.
He said that the Ministry of Tourism has advised all the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations to deploy Tourist Police to ensure safety and security of tourists.
” The State Governments and UT Administrations of Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have deployed Tourist Police, in one form or the other,” he added.
The ministry has posted an advisory on its website: www.incredibleindia.org in the wake of some unfortunate incidents involving international tourists.
The Departments of Tourism of all States and UTs will work for ensuring the safety and security of tourists, especially women and will run a mass awareness campaign called “I respect women”, he said.
The Ministry of Tourism runs Social Awareness Campaigns on leading television channels in the country on themes related to, inter-alia, behavior towards tourists recognising the need to sensitise the masses and the stakeholders of the tourism industry to the traditional Indian values of the concept ‘Atithidevo Bhava’, he added. Source : pib.nic.in
July 9, 2014
