Despite it's size and diversity in tourism sites, 'Incredible India' can
manage to attract only about five million foreign tourists a year while
Singa****e, its South Asian neighbour, draws over 10 million visitors.
While the Tourism Ministry under Ambika Soni pats itself on the back for
the
increase in tourist arrivals in India from 3.34 million in 2004 to five
million in 2007, Singa****e's figures for the same period stand at 8.32
million and 10.30 million, respectively.
Figures on foreign tourist inflow cited by Soni in the Rajya Sabha on
Tuesday reflect how, despite sustained efforts by her ministry to sell
brand
India abroad as an exciting destination, overseas visitors are not
flocking
in large numbers to its golden beaches, misty mountains and ****mmering
desert sands.
While the poor law and order situation in several states may not be a
major
factor in deterring them, it does play a significant role in keeping them
away with crimes against foreigners becoming more frequent. The recent
case
of a teenaged Briton dying in Goa under mysterious cir***stances lead to
an
uproar in the Rajya Sabha with angry members expressing their anger over
the
incident.
Soni told them that the Centre was concerned over such incidents and had
proposed deployment of ex-servicemen as tourist wardens at prominent
tourism
sites all over the country. The Home and Defence ministries had agreed at
a
recent meeting to constitute a tourism task force comprising retired
service
personnel for ensuring safety of tourists. The blueprint for the proposal
is
ready and has been sent to state governments to enable them to act on it
urgently, she stated.
Soni, however, ignored CPI(M) member Brinda Karat's suggestion that her
ministry should sup****t the demand for a CBI enquiry into Scarlett
Keeling's
death in Goa.
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