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Foreign tourist arrivals cross 3 M
By agencies
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Friday, 13 May 2005, 19:30 IST
BANGALORE:Foreign tourist arrivals in India crossed 3 million last year with South India emerging as the preferred destination.
65 percent of the 3.26 million foreign tourists who came to India in 2004 visited South India.
With it's rich cultural hertiage sites like the Vijaynagar ruins of Hampi, the Niligiri ranges, the backwaters and beaches of Kerala, South India has become a favored destination for foreign tourists.
"South India is a very important market for Europe. It has to do with the landscape here and the culture of course. The Germans are absolutely interested in the Indian culture," said Hanns P Nerger, President and CEO, Berlin Tourism Marketing.
"Because Kerala has been very well promoted, the southern states have been very well promoted outside India. They have been promoted better than the Northern states and that's why the focus of Europeans are more on South India," said Radha Bhatia, Chairperson, The Bird Group.
With Indians too traveling abroad more frequently, tour operators from Europe are also looking at increasing the number of visitors from South India to Europe.