New Delhi — Delhi cemented the perception of being the most unsafe city for tourists with the latest crime data. Of the total 384 cases of crimes against foreign tourists registered in 2014, about a third are from Delhi.
This comes at a time when Delhi has dropped in rank of foreign tourist arrivals from third to fourth with a near stagnant number of arrivals. According to data collated by the National Crime Records Bureau a total of 486 cases of crime against foreign nationals were registered in India in 2014. Of these 384 were tourists while 102 were foreigners living in the country on a business, student or medical visa.
Goa came in second to the national capital with 66 cases involving foreign tourists and 73 cases including all foreigners. This was followed by Uttar Pradesh (64), Rajasthan (31) and Q Maharashtra registering 25 cases against foreign tourists.
The maximum number of cases were those of theft followed by assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty, robbery and rape, among other crimes, Economic Times. reported.
According to tourism ministry data Delhi received 23.19 lakh foreign tourists in 2014, a mere 0.77 per cent increase from last year that led to a drop in its ranking from number three to four in the states receiving for eign tourists. Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra received a larger number of foreigner tourists in comparison.
Tourism industry sources say that the Nirbhaya gangrape case dealt a severe blow to the industry. The recent case of the gangrape of a Danish woman has also damaged the capital’s image. Hotels and tourist facilities like taxis, guides have taken steps to make women travellers feel secure by introducing security checks and advisories.