CAA stir: India’s tourism industry hit; travel advisories issued by 7 countries

The ongoing Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has hit the tourism industry in a major way, as anti-government protests have rocked several cities this month. Latest reports suggest that as of now, at least seven countries have already issued travel advisories.

Officials estimate that around 200000 domestic and international tourists have either postponed or cancelled their trip to the Taj Mahal, which is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India, in the past two weeks. Police Inspector Dinesh Kumar, overseeing a special tourist police station near the Taj Mahal, who had access to visitor data, stated that there has been a 60 per cent decline in tourist arrival in December this year.
He also said that both domestic and international tourists have been calling their control rooms to check security. Although their protection has been assured, many visitors still prefer to stay away.
In a move to bring down unrest and violence, Agra’s mobile internet services have been suspended by the authorities. However, this move has gravely affected travel and tourism in Agra by around 50-60 per cent, said Sandeep Arora, President of the Agra Tourism Development Foundation.
Likewise, this time, due to the ongoing protests and travel advisories by various countries, Assam has also suffered the blow, with the tourist number going down by 90 per cent in the month of December.

The United States of America, Russia, Britain, Singapore, Taiwan, and Canada have already issued travel advisories asking their citizens to either avoid or refrain from visiting regions that are embroiled in the protests in India.