As demonstrations against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) flare up across the country, tourism has taken a hit in December, with officials telling Reuters that about 200,000 domestic and international tourists cancelled or postponed their trip to the Taj Mahal in this month.
The report cited police officials overseeing the station near the Taj Mahal, who said that there has been a 60 per cent decline in visitors this December.
According to the Department of Tourism, December is the month that sees the most foreign tourists coming to India. Uttar Pradesh was the third-most-popular state for foreign tourists in India in 2018, making up 13.1 per cent of all visits.
The Uttar Pradesh Department of Tourism recorded 6.6 million visits to the Taj Mahal alone in 2018, of which 883,770 were foreign tourists.
According to Reuters, tourists have been calling and inquiring about security, deciding to stay away even after police officials assured them of it. The report also cited managers from luxury hotels and guest houses around the Taj Mahal claiming an increase in last-minute cancellations.
Several countries have issued travel advisories so far, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Russia, Israel, Singapore, Canada and Taiwan. Citizens of these countries have been asked to exercise caution when visiting protest-hit regions in India, with some countries specifying areas to avoid like the northeastern states or Uttar Pradesh and parts of the National Capital Region.
The US travel advisory warned its embassy personnel from visiting Uttar Pradesh. “Embassy personnel should exercise caution if travelling to Uttar Pradesh, where violent demonstrations continue.”
Uttar Pradesh saw the most casualties—19, according to the UP police—from the anti-CAA protests so far.
Assam, where five died in police firing early into the protests, was a hotbed for protests against the government. The state has also suffered a tourist shortfall. Speaking to Reuters, Jayanta Malla Baruah, head of the Assam Tourism Development Corp, said that the state saw a 90 per cent drop in visits during December.
