In-bound tour operators’ body IATO on Friday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention in reviving in-bound tourism in the country, saying the number of foreign tourist visitors remains “way below” pre-pandemic levels.
In a letter to Modi, the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) also requested for financial succour to its members by way of certain incentives.
Drawing his attention to a recent statement made in Parliament by Union Tourism Minister G Krishna Reddy that only 85.9 lakh foreign tourists visited the country in 2022 as compared to 3.14 crore in 2019, the association listed various reasons for the decline in foreign tourist visitors volumes and suggested steps that can be taken to revive the segment.
The association claims to be representing over 1,700 in-bound tour operators in the country.
“Foreign tourist visitors number falling during the Covid (pandemic) was understandable but now things are absolutely normal but our numbers are nowhere near the 2019