In a bid to make 17 iconic sites of international standards and to remove the negative perception which international tourists have about India over safety, the Tourism Ministry is seeking feedback from the other countries.

“I have met a few ministers as well as ambassadors from other countries and have asked them to give feedback on the negative perception which the tourists from their country have formed about India from their visit,” said Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Tourism and Culture.

The objective is also to make these sites conform to international standard for which the Ministry is exploring ways to address the complaints of foreign tourists and to also improve the quality of guides through training, he added.

The Ministry is also working on a signboard in the three languages of the top three countries which see highest footfall in that particular monument to make visits easier for those tourists.

On the issue of tourism in Kashmir, Patel said, “Once the normalcy is back in Kashmir the number of the tourists will go up”.

According to the latest data available on the Tourism Ministry’s website, foreign tourist arrivals in June 2019 were 7,21,015 as compared to 6,83,928 in June 2018, up 5.4 per cent. During the period January-June 2019 the numbers were 52,66,898 as compared to 51,51,321 in January- June 2018 registering a growth of 2.2 per cent.

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