India's tourism begins to feel the global pinch

"Incredible India" is what the country's energetic promotional campaign calls it. But behind the glossy brochures is an increasingly hard fight to entice foreign tourists.

The worst financial crisis in 80 years, high oil prices and a slew of militant attacks has hit an industry that has basked in double-digit growth numbers of both domestic and foreign tourists in recent years, according to data from the Ministry of Tourism.

October saw an increase of just 1.8 percent in the number of foreign tourist arrivals compared to the same time in 2007, prompting the Indian government to ask hotels to slash their prices by 10 to 15 percent in the hope of keeping demand high.