World tourism day: Maharashtra pips other states in foreign tourist footfalls

The business hub in Mumbai and places of tourist interest in the state have made Maharashtra a leading state for foreign and domestic tourists, said Indian tourism department officials. This was an apt reason to celebrate World Tourism Day on Friday.

“Maharashtra leads in attracting foreign tourists and domestic ones due to several factors,” said Arun Srivastava, regional director (West and Central), Ministry of Tourism.

Those arriving in the first flight at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport were given mementos. Many citizens took part in a walk from Nariman Point to Girgaum Chowpatty to celebrate World Tourism Day. 

As per the data, Maharashtra received around 51.20 lakh foreign tourists  followed by Tamil Nadu at 35.62 lakh and Delhi at 23.46 lakh in 2012. The figures were arrived at by getting details from hotels. It is mandatory for hotels to record passport details of foreign guests.

Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka are ahead of Maharashtra in domestic tourism. The data for domestic tourists are calculated based on number of people who stay for more than 24 hours outside their base home. Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation officials claimed there was a lot of scope to attract more tourists to the state. “Maharashtra has always been a self-sustained state so the government didn’t seriously promote tourism. But now things seem to be changing.”