Soheb Samad, Regional Director, India Tourism (South), Government of India, said in Mysuru on Saturday that foreign tourist arrivals had gone up largely in the last year after the electronic visa system or e-visa was launched.
He was speaking at the inauguration of the 18th annual conference of the Tourist Guides’ Federation of India (TGFI) here.
Mr. Samad said 7.70 million foreign tourists visited India in 2014, a growth of 10.6 percent from 5.9 percent that was registered in 2013. The regional director complimented tourist guides for playing the role of ambassadors to promote the country’s heritage and added that nine percent of employment comes from the tourism industry.
In his address, TGFI national president Narendra Singh Rathore said many professional tourist guides in the country were leaving the profession over uncertainty in the occupation.
“We bring revenue to the industry and work hard for six months, being a seasonal profession. But there is no protection to our profession with suitable welfare measures either from the Centre or the State government,” he rued.
Over 250 tourist guides from across the country and stakeholders from the tourism industry are attending the two-day convention.
The delegates were mesmerised by the folk performances presented by local artistes prior to the start of the convention.
