There has been a sharp decline in the number of tourists, both foreign and domestic, visiting Madhya Pradesh.
In 1998-99, 473,6169 domestic tourists visited Madhya Pradesh, which declined to 54,671 in 2002-2003.
Similarly, number of foreign tourists dwindled to 14,238 from 120,119 in 1998-99. The total number of tourists fell from 4,856,288 to 560,949.
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The Kanha forest which had received 2,688 foreign tourists in 2000-2001, saw the number declining to 821 in 2002-03. In 2002-03, only 8,329 tourists visited Khajuraho compared to 49,825 in 2000-01.
The department of tourism, which has been incurring losses for several years, is unlikely to earn profits in the coming years because bad roads, power crisis and connectivity problems continue to haunt important tourist destinations.
According to data available with Business Standard, the department has lost Rs 95.60 lakh.