In a latest report from the union ministry of Tourism, Maharashtra topped the list in number of foreign tourist visits, followed by Tamil Nadu and New Delhi. While Maharashtra received nearly 4.8 million tourists, Tamil Nadu welcomed 3.4 million people and New Delhi played host to 2.2 million foreigners. The statistics released by the ministry for 2011, says the number of Foreign Tourist Visits (FTVs) to Indian states/union territories was 19.5 million as compared to 17.9 million in 2010 and 14.4 million in 2009. This year, the number of FTVs registered a growth of 8.85 percent over 2010 as compared to a growth of 24.6 percent in 2010 over 2009. It is the third consecutive year where the number of foreign tourist visitors has increased.
“Our campaign Maharashtra Unlimited has been successful in reaching out to the globe. We lay emphasis on leisure tours, beach tours, rural tourism and heritage tourism among others. As Maharashtra is an all season-destination our next goal is to reach the topmost slot in the country in terms of domestic tourists’ arrival,” said Chhagan Bhujbal, minister of Tourism, Maharashtra.
