NEW DELHI - The number of foreign women tourists visiting India has dropped by 35 per cent in the past three months following a spate of sex attacks that have made global headlines, a new survey has found.
Indians have been vocal in denouncing the gang rapes, but researchers say women tourists are more comfortable in Thailand. (AFP photo)
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) said overall tourist arrivals are down 25 per cent year-on-year, with holidaymakers opting instead to visit other Asian countries such as Malaysia and Thailand.
The fatal gang-rape of a 23-year-old Indian student by six men on a bus in New Delhi in December sparked outrage at the country's treatment of women, and since then there have also been other widely reported attacks.
A Swiss cyclist was gang-raped in Madhya Pradesh last month, while a South Korean tourist was allegedly drugged and raped in the same state in January by the son of the owner of a hotel where she was staying.
Such incidents have "raised concerns about the safety of female travellers to the country," said DS Rawat, secretary general at Assocham, which surveyed 1,200 tour operators from different cities.
The figures contradict monthly estimates compiled by the Indian tourism ministry, which found an increase in foreign tourists arriving in early 2013, although figures for March were not yet available.
February saw arrivals increase by 1.6 per cent compared with last year, according to the ministry, still far lower than the 7.9-per cent growth logged in February 2012.
Gour Kanjilal, executive director of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, also questioned the scale of the drop in visitors reported by ASSOCHAM, but said some potential visitors had been in contact to discuss concerns.
"There is a decline whenever any such incident takes place. Tourism becomes the first casualty," he said.