India’s Tourism Suffers in the Height of Their Season
Ambika Soni, India’s tourism minister, said that the global economic downturn had severely damaged the sector inI ndia. Her comments came the day after the country’s tourist board revised its planned growth rate for the year from 15 per cent down to just five per cent.
The attacks make achieving even that highly unlikely, with industry figures suggesting the high season could have been ruined just as it was beginning.
Vijay Thakur, the president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, said: “We were worried about the economic slowdown and its impact on the tourism industry but this is a direct attack on our industry as it has targeted hotels and foreigners.
“This is the peak period for the tourism sector and we were hoping business would pick up in a month. But now we don’t think that might happen. It is too early to say how big an impact it will have but it definitely looks like the sector will be hit badly,” Mr Thakur added.
“This is for the first time terrorists have targeted hotels and foreigners. It is certainly going to further dampen the sentiment of the tourism industry.”
Vijay Mallya, the chairman and chief executive of Kingfisher Airlines, said the incident was catastrophic, adding: “We are reviewing our flight schedules in and out of Mumbai.”
Ajai Sahni, the head of the New Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management, said: “The greatest significance is the scale they’ve achieved and also the elite nature of their targets — five-star hotels and restaurants.
“There has been a continuing attempt to undermine India’s economy over the past four or five years and this is part of it. If we keep seeing attacks of this magnitude, perceptions of India’s security are going to shift and it will impact directly on investment decisions.”
Local news networks described the attack as ‘Mumbai’s 9/11’ as extremists followed al-Qaeda’s example by singling out foreign nationals for attack. The burnt-out Taj Mahal and Trident-Oberoi hotels will provide a daily reminder of the devastation.
Karen
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