The impact of the global economic crisis was aggravated by the recent Mumbai terror attacks and pushed the Indian tourism industry in recession mode.
Foreign tourist arrivals to India have been constantly rising since 2002 but in November 2008, this consistency broke down when tourist inflow declined 2.1%, said the tourism ministry, as reported by The Economic Times.
The total tourist arrivals dropped from 5.32 Lakh in November 2007 to 5.21 Lakh in November 2008, leading to a drop of 12.5% in foreign exchange earning to $1 Billion. In contrast, the total foreign tourist arrivals between January and November 2008 surged 8% to 4.84 Million against the corresponding period a year ago.
Global economic slowdown has led to the fall in overseas tourist arrivals to India as people across the world have reduced their spending on traveling. Financial crisis that engulfed the whole world has also played a critical role to slowdown the tourist inflow into the country.
In addition, recent Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008 created panic among tourists across the globe; consequently, from 40% to 60% of travelers bookings, particularly from the US and Europe, have been cancelled. In fact, it is believed that around 15% of tourist arrivals are expected to fall in the current season owing to terrorist attack.
Before the recent Mumbai terrorist attacks, the Indian government launched a host of new programs, including adventure and medical tourism and rural tourism, to boost the tourist arrivals, said industry experts. In a move to attract more tourists from around the globe, the Ministry of Tourism has found 130 sites across the rural regions of the country to develop them into model villages. These villages will present an amalgamation of India’s diverse heritage and culture. But Mumbai attacks spoiled the plans.
So the government has opened diplomatic channels to encourage countries that have asked their citizens not to visit India after attacks to review their advisories.
According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “Already hurt by the ongoing economic meltdown, the Indian tourism industry is further hit by the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. This has certainly escalated the fear of more falls in foreign tourist arrivals in coming months. However, the country has intensified its efforts and is charting new strategies to boost tourism sector.”
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