Towards the end of 2019, as many as seven countries had issued travel advisories to their citizens asking them to either avoid visiting or exercise caution while visiting parts of India affected by the anti-CAA protests.
The year 2019 saw a dampened growth in the number of foreign tourist arrivals, as per government data cited in a report by The Economic Times.
Consequently, foreign exchange earnings from the same took a hit as well, growing at the slowest pace in over a decade. the report noted.
While the government has not assessed the impact of the countrywide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), experts from the tourism industry quoted in the report link the slowed growth in foreign tourist arrivals to factors like the anti-CAA protests and high levels of air pollution in the northern parts of the country.
Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.
In 2019, only a 3.1 percent increase from the year before was recorded in foreign tourist arrivals in India, with around 10.89 million tourists having visited the country, according to the ET report. This was lower than the 5.2 percent and 14 percent growth seen in 2018 and 2017 respectively.
Meanwhile, earnings from foreign tourists in the country saw an 8.2 percent increase in 2019, as opposed to the 9.6 percent growth in 2018 and the 15 percent growth in 2017, the report said citing data from the tourism ministry and the Reserve Bank of India.
Towards the end of 2019, as many as seven countries had issued travel advisories to their citizens asking them to either avoid visiting or exercise caution while visiting parts of India affected by the anti-CAA protests.
These countries were the United States, Britain, Russia, Israel, Singapore, Canada and Taiwan.
The severe deterioration of the air quality in the national capital region also raised concerns amid travelers who either rescheduled or cancelled their trips to the country, especially to Delhi and other pollution affected parts of India.Exclusive offer: Use code "BUDGET2020" and get Moneycontrol Pro's Subscription for as little as Rs 333/- for the first year.
