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Maharashtrians are biggest: Deccan Herald
Panaji, Oct 09: Contrary to popular perception, it is not the Gujarati or the Bengali who is bitten by the travel bug, but Maharashtrians, UPites and Tamilians who account for the largest segment of domestic travellers within India.
Panaji, Oct 09: Contrary to popular perception, it is not the Gujarati or the Bengali who is bitten by the travel bug, but Maharashtrians, UPites and Tamilians who account for the largest segment of domestic travellers within India.
Some 15 million people travel out of Maharashtra every year, compared to six million from Gujarat and seven million from West Bengal, data presented at the Goa Tourism Meet revealed.
Uttar Pradesh too, contributes a sizeable 13 million to domestic traffic and Tamil Nadu 12 million. Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh with nine million travellers each, are also key generators of domestic tourist traffic, according to Himmat Anand, chief operating officer Kuoni Travel (India).
Meeting here over two days to devise new strategies to position Goa as a global destination, experts from the leisure industry suggested a more aggressive drive with special trains and bogeys turned out with a holiday touch, to pull in the domestic traveller.
Tourism figures for the country are revealing. India generates 270 million domestic travellers (103 million of these in the urban areas), but manages just 2.4 million international arrivals a year.
India’s biggest tourist state Rajasthan, for instance, draws 8.3 million Indian tourists and 4.2 lakh foreigners. Kerala which attracts 5.56 million Indian visitors, managed 2.3 lakh foreign arrivals. Domestic traffic touched a new high in Goa last year with 1.3 million arrivals, and its international traffic managed a recovery of sorts after September 11 with 2.7 lakh arrivals.
Leisure and business are the driving force of tourism worldwide. Not so with urban India, where 60 per cent of travellers leave home to visit family, friends or for social engagements.
Just 15.8 per cent of the domestic urban traffic takes off on leisure holidays, and barely 10 per cent moves around on business trips. Pilgrimage tourism in fact accounts for only 7 per cent of urban Indian travel.
Some 15 million people travel out of Maharashtra every year, compared to six million from Gujarat and seven million from West Bengal, data presented at the Goa Tourism Meet revealed.
Uttar Pradesh too, contributes a sizeable 13 million to domestic traffic and Tamil Nadu 12 million. Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh with nine million travellers each, are also key generators of domestic tourist traffic, according to Himmat Anand, chief operating officer Kuoni Travel (India).
Meeting here over two days to devise new strategies to position Goa as a global destination, experts from the leisure industry suggested a more aggressive drive with special trains and bogeys turned out with a holiday touch, to pull in the domestic traveller.
Tourism figures for the country are revealing. India generates 270 million domestic travellers (103 million of these in the urban areas), but manages just 2.4 million international arrivals a year.
India’s biggest tourist state Rajasthan, for instance, draws 8.3 million Indian tourists and 4.2 lakh foreigners. Kerala which attracts 5.56 million Indian visitors, managed 2.3 lakh foreign arrivals. Domestic traffic touched a new high in Goa last year with 1.3 million arrivals, and its international traffic managed a recovery of sorts after September 11 with 2.7 lakh arrivals.
Leisure and business are the driving force of tourism worldwide. Not so with urban India, where 60 per cent of travellers leave home to visit family, friends or for social engagements.
Just 15.8 per cent of the domestic urban traffic takes off on leisure holidays, and barely 10 per cent moves around on business trips. Pilgrimage tourism in fact accounts for only 7 per cent of urban Indian travel.