(TAN): India’s tourism industry has suffered lately amid anti-government protests across the country against a new citizenship law, reports said.
At least seven countries, including the Unites States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Israel, Singapore, Canada and Taiwan have issued travel warnings, cautioning their citizens to either not visit or be careful while visiting regions involved in the protests, as per reports.
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Around 200,000 domestic and international visitors have either called off or postponed their tours to the Taj Mahal in the past couple of weeks owing to the unrest, reports said.
Dinesh Kumar, a police inspector supervising a special tourist police station near the Taj Mahal reportedly said tourists, both domestic and international, have been calling the control rooms to find out about the situation. Despite being assured protection, they prefer to not visit, he reportedly said.
“There has been a 60% decline in visitor footfalls in December this year [compared to last year],” Kumar was quoted by Reuters as saying.
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Taj Mahal, located in Agra in Uttar Pradesh state, is one of the world’s most popular tourist attractions which reportedly welcomes 6.5 million tourists annually and earns around USD 14 million from entrance fees every year. However, clashes between the police and protestors of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) resulted in at least 25 deaths in two weeks of unrest in the north Indian state.
Luxury hotels and guest houses around the Taj Mahal reportedly suffered losses during the festive season after tourists cancelled reservations at the last minute. Mobile internet services were suspended in Agra as a measure to curb the unrest, reports said.
“Blocking the internet has affected travel and tourism in Agra by about 50 to 60%,” President of the Agra Tourism Development Foundation, Sandeep Arora, was quoted by Reuters as saying.
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