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Indian govt concerned over safety of women foreign tourists in India

Foreign tourists enjoying in India: File Pic
Foreign tourists enjoying in India: File Pic

Concerned over recent assault on women foreign tourists in India, Indian Tourism Minister has said safety of women foreign tourists is an area of concern for Indian government.

New Delhi, July 16/Nationalturk – The Indian Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi has said safety of women foreign tourists in India is an area of concern for Indian government.

“Few recent incidents during which foreign women tourists were sexually assaulted have generated widespread negative publicity for India. The safety of tourists, especially of women foreign women, is an area of concern,” Chiranjeevi said while chairing a meeting of National Tourism Advisory Council (NTAC) in Indian capital New Delhi.

Several women foreign tourists including a Chinese woman, South Korean woman, a British woman and Swiss woman cyclist were sexually assaulted in different parts of India. An American woman was gang raped in Indian city of Manali on June 4. These incidents have send wrong signal about India in outside world.

NTAC is a think tank constituted by Indian government and comprises experts from various fields and representatives of industry associations. It advises the government on various aspects of tourism with the objective of promoting domestic and foreign tourism in the country.

Chiranjeevi said since tourism ministry cannot deal with law and order, he has written to all Chief Ministers of states in India to take effective measures to create conducive and friendly atmosphere for all tourists, especially women foreign tourists so that they can travel without any problems and fears.

‘Tourism sector witnessed substantial growth in last decade’

The Indian Tourism Minister said the tourism sector in India has witnessed substantial growth in the last decade. “The Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during 2012 reached 6.58 million. The estimated number of domestic tourist visits in 2012 was 1027 million”.

He said although the growth of in-bound tourism in India has been higher than the overall growth in the world, the share of India at 0.64% continues to be low. “We have to strive harder to increase this share”.

Referring to domestic tourism, the minister said, “Huge size of domestic tourism helps to sustain Indian tourism industry even when there is negative or low growth in inbound tourism. We will, therefore, continue to promote domestic tourism also”.

Referring to religious tourism, Chiranjeevi said a substantial component of domestic travel is for pilgrimages. “There is a need to enhance amenities and facilities at major pilgrimage centres. Uttarakhand, which is visited by a large number of pilgrims, has witnessed widespread damage in recent floods. The Tourism ministry has sanctioned a special financial package for restoration and reconstruction of the affected tourist facilities in Uttarakhand”.

The minister sought active involvement of the Corporate sector to adopt important tourist sites and monuments in India. “We have identified about 120 monuments across India, that can be given for adoption”.

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Faiz Ahmad / NationalTurk India News

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