Foreign tourists arrivals increased in July: Chiranjeevi

New Delhi: Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in the country in July this year has shown an increase as compared to the corresponding period last year, Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi said today. Replying to a question in Rajya Sabha, Chiranjeevi said, “The total FTA number in the month of July this year shows an increase of 7.9 percent as compared to the corresponding month in 2012.”[caption id=“attachment_1053345” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Union Minister for Tourism K Chiranjeevi. Image courtesy PIB[/caption] The House was also informed that the data on number of Buddhist tourists from Korea, China, Myanmar, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan after the bomb blast on 7 July in Bodh Gaya this year is not available with the ministry. To provide safety and security to tourists, the ministry has advised all states and Union Territories to deploy Tourist Police. The ministry has also issued guidelines for formation of Tourist Facilitation and Security Organisation (TFSO) comprising ex-servicemen in consultation with ministry of Defence, Home and Directorate General of Re-settlement. The minister said central financial assistance has been granted to Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh for setting up of TFSO. PTI