Asia-Pacific

India's disease outbreaks stir tourism worries

(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-10-18 15:29

Indian tourist arrivals rose over 13 percent in January-September to 3.061 million from 2.70 million in the same period in 2005, following three years of healthy growth.

But officials in the southern state of Kerala, famous for its backwaters, pristine beaches and hill stations, said they were receiving inquiries from tourists on whether it was safe to come to India this winter, when the foreign tourist season peaks.

"We are getting many inquiries from Europeans planning to travel to Kerala whether it is safe to do so because of reports of chikungunya," E.K. Bharat Bhushan, the principal secretary of Kerala Tourism, said.

"Our answer is yes, it is safe and come on over."

Bhushan added that authorities had drastically stepped up the state's disease monitoring mechanism, garbage disposal and fumigation operations to curb the number of chikungunya cases in Kerala, which were around 60,400 but falling each day.

"All the resort owners have taken extra measures to keep their surroundings clean and devoid of mosquitoes," he said.

Kerala is ranked third in terms of foreign tourist arrivals after the desert state of Rajasthan and the coastal state of Goa.

Indian authorities have been slammed by media for not anticipating the need to clean up stagnant water after the monsoons and allowing mosquitoes to breed leading to the twin outbreaks. The outcry has forced officials to act - belatedly.