Acknowledging that incidents like assault on foreign women have a negative impact on the industry, Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi today said safety of foreign tourists remains a matter of concern and effective steps will be taken for creating friendly atmosphere for them.
"A few recent incidents, where foreign women tourists were sexually assaulted, have generated widespread negative publicity for India," he said while chairing the meeting of National Tourism Advisory Council (NTAC) here.
Expressing concern over the safety of tourists particularly foreigners, he said, "As law and order is a state subject, I have written to all chief ministers to take effective steps to create conducive and friendly atmosphere for all tourists."
He said the tourism sector in India has witnessed substantial growth in the last decade. Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during 2012 have reached 6.58 million. The estimated number of domestic tourist visits in 2012 was 1027 million.
"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 per cent continues to be low. We have to strive harder to increase this share."
Chiranjeevi was of the opinion that huge size of domestic tourism helps to sustain the 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, he said a substantial component of domestic travel is for pilgrimages and there is a need to enhance amenities and facilities at our major pilgrimage centres.
On Uttarakhand, which has witnessed widespread damage in recent floods, he said, "As you may be aware, Tourism Ministry has sanctioned a special financial package of Rs 100 crore for restoration and reconstruction of the affected government tourist facilities in the state.
"This will be in addition to the Central Financial Assistance of about Rs 95 crore already sanctioned during the current financial year for developing tourism infrastructure in the State.
