Even as Indian authorities are engaged in dialogue with the governments of the five countries that had recently issued an advisory to their people against travelling to India on holiday due to a fear of terrorist attack, bookings from these places may already have been hit to some extent.
The negative sentiment has impacted inbound tourism, travel trade representatives told Business Standard. According to Arjun Sharma, managing director, Le Passage to India, fresh bookings from many of those countries (the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) would dry up. However, cancellations of existing bookings have been rare. “Our season starts post-Diwali and we hope things get sorted out at the start of the season. If the situation continues as it is, new bookings will take a huge hit, he said.
Subhash Goyal, chairman, Stic Travel Group, says such advisories have negative sentiment on a destination. “The peak travel season is about to start and we hope that with the issue being taken up by the government, it will not affect our business,” he said.
The local consulates of the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand issued travel alerts on October 18 to their citizens, cautioning them about terrorist strikes during Indian festivals and other peak holiday periods. These alerts were not expected to be lifted before January.
“The Department of State reminds US citizens of the continued possibility of terrorist attacks throughout India and urges citizens to pay particular attention to their personal security during the Indian holiday season, which includes Hindu, Islamic, and other religious and secular holidays between October and January,” said a statement from the US consulate.
| DESTINATION INDIA For the year 2010 (figures in million) | ||
| Country | Foreign tourist arrivals | Per cent share |
| US | 0.916 | 16.40 |
| UK | 0.755 | 13.52 |
| Bangladesh | 0.381 | 6.82 |
| Canada | 0.240 | 4.30 |
| Germany | 0.224 | 4.01 |
| Sri Lanka | 0.219 | 3.92 |
| France | 0.218 | 3.90 |
| Japan | 0.165 | 2.95 |
| Australia | 0.164 | 2.94 |
| Malaysia | 0.160 | 2.87 |
| Others | 2.142 | 38.36 |
| Total | 5.584 | 100.00 |
| Source: Ministry of Tourism | ||
Visitors from the US constitute 16.4 per cent of all inbound tourists into India. Britain’s is 13.5 per cent, Canada is 4.3 per cent and Australia 2.9 per cent, according to tourism ministry data.
Australia, New Zealand and Canada will look into the issue of travel advisories against India after New Delhi raised the matter with these countries saying that the language used in these notices was "disproportionate" and had an adverse impact to its tourism sector.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna held bilateral talks with his counterparts from Australia, New Zealand and Canada on the sidelines of CHOGAM Foreign Ministers' meeting here and raised the issue in detail.
