NEW DEHLI: India’s tourism industry has been hit by a wave of violent anti-government protests across the country against a new citizenship law, with at least seven countries issuing travel warnings.
At least 25 people have been killed in clashes between police and protesters, and demonstrations against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which critics see as anti-Muslim.
The United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Israel, Singapore, Canada and Taiwan have issued travel advisories asking their citizens to either refrain from visiting or to exercise caution when visiting regions embroiled in India’s protests.
Officials estimate that in the past two weeks, about 200,000 domestic and international tourists cancelled or postponed their trips to the Taj Mahal, one of the world’s most popular tourist attractions.
There has been a 60 percent decline in visitor footfalls in December this year [compared to last year], accoding to a report.
The 17th-century marble monument is in Uttar Pradesh, the northern state that has witnessed the highest number of deaths and intense bursts of violence in two weeks of unrest.
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A group of European tourists travelling across India said they now planned to cut short their 20-day trip.
“We are all retired folks. For us, travel has to be slow and relaxing. The newspaper headlines have led to a sense of concern and we will leave sooner than we had planned,” said Dave Millikin, a retired banker living on the outskirts of London, who spoke to Reuters News Agency from the capital New Delhi.
The Taj Mahal, situated in the town of Agra, attracts more than 6.5 million tourists every year, generating nearly $14m annually from entrance fees.
A foreign tourist pays 1,100 rupees (about $15) to enter the grounds, although nationals from neighbouring countries get a discount.
Managers in luxury hotels and guest houses around the Taj Mahal said last-minute cancellations during the festive season have further dampened business sentiment at a time when the country’s economic growth has slowed to 4.5 percent, its slowest pace in more than six years.
