India Still Popular Despite Recent warnings
Stewart PerryA recent increase in travel warnings from countries in the West has had almost no effect on the interest of tourists for India.
Cautions have stemming from advisories issued by such countries as the US, Israel, France, UK, Germany, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Warnings issued by Israel and the US warn potential visitors about terrorist attacks which may be planned for India.
Israel has even gone so far as to warn about the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) saying that it is planning a string of terrorist attacks through out the nation. This is the group reported to be responsible for Mumbai’s terrorist attacks last year.
Britain, France, Canada and New Zealand have decided to raise their official warning for India to “exercise high degree of caution”, branding the country a high risk area with an elevated general threat.
But these warnings have not stopped visitors, and there have been no real increase in cancellations for existing business or holiday bookings. In fact, hotels and travel agents have reported new bookings, as visitors still prepare to visit India during the main tourist season which is November to March. The Tourist season in India usually peaks between December 20 and January 10.
A Deloitte report recently published revealed that foreign visitor numbers to the Indian sub-continent jumped by about 13% between 2005 and 2007.
The 2008 Mumbai attacks have resulted in a series of cancellations in corporate and leisure bookings. The global financial woes have also impacted the tourism numbers in India over the previous 24 months.
/images/rssicon.jpg "Subscribe to RSS feed")
Subscribe for free and recieve the latest Self-Catering-Breaks news and stories
Filed under World News