Swine flu fears no deterrence to tourists flocking to TN

The huge increase, particularly in June, is notable as the spread of H1N1 virus had reportedly intensified that month in the state. So far, three people have died of swine flu in Tamil Nadu.

Notwithstanding this factor, a total of 2,09,97,022 tourists chose to visit the state during this period, compared to 1,59,85,655 last year, a 31.3 per cent growth, as per statistics of the Tamil Nadu Tourism Department.

Interestingly, foreign tourists numbered 5,14,738 compared to the same period the previous year when 4,52,374 came to the state, registering an increase of 13.78 per cent.

The month of June saw a huge 30.5 per cent increase in local tourists with 74,10,959 persons arriving in the state, compared to the previous year’s 56,75,750. Foreign tourist arrivals for that month was 1,72,224 compared to the previous year’s 1,34,570, an increase of 27.9 per cent.

Chennai is the most preferred destination for tourists, in the state followed by Udhagamandalam (Ooty) and Madurai district. The city, which celebrated its 370th birthday last month, accounted for a total of 36,37,476 tourists during April-June, compared to 28,69,788 in the same period last year, a leap of 26.75 per cent.
Sri Lankans, British and Americans were the ones who most frequented the state among foreign tourists.

A total of 47,276 Sri Lankans visited Tamil Nadu in April, May and June compared to previous year’s 42,088, registering a growth of about 12 per cent.  A distant second were those from the UK, 29,929 of whom came to the state, compared to 23,140 during the corresponding period last year, a 7.7 per cent growth.

US tourist arrivals saw a 10 per cent growth over last year, with 22,140 Americans in Tamil Nadu, compared to 20,144 over the April-June period last year.