News

Tourism in India could soon feel the effects of a number of mosquito-borne diseases which are currently affecting the nation.

Around 103 people have died during an outbreak of dengue fever since August and officials say as many as 5,700 people have become infected.

In addition, there have been 1.35m cases of chikungunya, although thankfully no deaths, and tour operators are becoming increasingly concerned about the possible effects.

'If this continues, it will definitely affect tourism in the country,' Subhash Goyal, president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, told Reuters.

'We need to clean up our act to ensure tourists are not deterred from travelling to India.'

So far it does not seem as if tourists are being discouraged from visiting the country, with figures showing an increase of 13% in January to September compared to the year before.

But tourism officials say, despite the good figures, they are still receiving a growing number of people enquiring as to whether or not it is safe to visit India.

'We are getting many inquiries from Europeans planning to travel to Kerala whether it is safe to do so because of reports of chikungunya," EK Bharat Bhushan, the principal secretary of Kerala Tourism told the news agency.

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

© Adfero Ltd