Drop in number of foreigners may affect Raj tourism business

The 'Pink City' is witnessing a drop in number of foreign tourists this season which may affect tourism business even as there is a spurt in number of domestic visitors here.
"Tourism season has started on a good note as the arrival of tourists have been quite high during the last few days which is the peak time," Superintendent of Jantar Mantar here, Sunita Kamthan said.
However inflow of foreigners indicates their footfall in Rajasthan may not be high this season.
"The number of French tourists are usually high, but this time it is quite low. Turnout of British tourists are also low," Gaurav Bhatt, a tourist guide said.

"Decline in the number of foreigners is set to affect business because they spend a lot on purchasing handicrafts, carpets and other items compared to domestic tourists," he said.
"Global issues like terrorism as well as economic factors may be the major reason behind the decline in number of foreigners this year," Bhatt added.

Of late, the 'Pink City' of Jaipur has turned into a tourist hub, with people, mostly domestic, visiting UNESCO World Heritage sites like Jantar Mantar, Hawa Mahal, Amber Fort, Jaigarh and Nahargarh Forts and also travelling to Jodhpur and Jaisalmer.
"There has been adistinct increase in number of tourists this season, as nearly 1.90 lakh people (both domestic and foreigners) have visited Amber Fort till yesterday and it will cross two lakh by the end of the month," Neeraj Tripathi, the fort's Curator said.

Prithvi Raj, who runs a hotel in Jaisalmer, said, "The number of tourists is at its peak these days since most of them prefer to celebrate new year's eve on sand dunes here. But it is not likely to remain the same after that."
Tourism season in Rajasthan, famous mainly for forts and palaces, starts in October and continues till April, during which lakhs of tourists visit Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Bundi and other destinations.