Tamil Nadu has witnessed a multi-fold increase in the number of tourist arrivals to the state till May, to become the top-ranked tourist destination in the country, Minister for Tourism and Tourism Development Corporation K Ramachandran said on Friday.The increase in the number of tourists visiting the state has been recorded in both domestic and overseas segments, he said.
The Minister on Friday chaired a review meeting of his department and said on account of various measures taken by Chief Minister M K Stalin, the government has witnessed a surge in tourist arrivals.
Giving some statistics, he said, tourists from overseas countries which stood at 57,622 in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic had grown to 4,07,139 in 2022 while it further increased to 4,42,337 till May.
On the domestic tourists visiting the state, he said it also increased from 11,53,36,719 in 2021 to 21,85,84,846 in 2022 and till May it witnessed 12,21,38,238 arrivals.
The new policy will aim at promoting lesser-known destinations in Himachal. To further assess the influx which was recorded at 72 lakh tourists in May 2023, the Himachal Chief Minister instructed the Tourism Department to develop a mechanism for data collection. He also directed the department to improve infrastructure and provide basic amenities to enhance the overall tourist experience.
To be specific, during April-May, as many as 1,74,564 people from overseas while 5,56,48,084 domestic tourists visited the state, he said in an official release. Maintaining that the government has been taking various tourism development initiatives, he instructed the officials towards speedy completion of the tourism-related initiatives.
Following the efforts taken to boost tourism, the government would be able to generate foreign exchange revenues and also benefit the locals of the tourist destinations that depend on tourist arrivals.
Ramachandran also advised the tour operators to get registered with the department and officials must ensure that such operators adhere to it, the release said.
